Albrecht Dürer - Small Xylographic Passion

Albrecht Dürer - Small Xylographic Passion – CM Editores – Private Collection

Nuremberg (Germany) — 1511

Furnished with 36 masterful woodcuts by the artistic genius Albrecht Dürer: one of his most successful works on one of the most popular Passion texts of all time

  1. Published in 1511 by Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), the greatest artist of the German Renaissance

  2. A 16th century bestseller so popular, it had to be reprinted multiple times

  3. The book’s 36 woodcuts inspired other works like the Golf Book of Hours by Simon Bening (c. 1483–1561)

Albrecht Dürer - Small Xylographic Passion

  1. Description
  2. Facsimile Editions (1)
Description
Albrecht Dürer - Small Xylographic Passion

The Small Xylographic Passion by Albrecht Dürer arose between 1508 and 1511 in Nuremberg. The work is concerned with the Passion of Christ the Redeemer. It contains 36 woodcuts, which unfold their unbelievable impression only in black-and-white and completely without coloration.

Albrecht Dürer - Small Xylographic Passion

At the beginning of the 16th century, Albrecht Dürer, Germany’s greatest Renaissance artist, dealt with the Passion of Christ in three printed works and numerous single sheets. His three so-called “great books” were the Apocalypse, the Great Passion, and the Small Passion. The last work gets its names from its comparably small format of 127 by 98 mm. The Small Passion is a collection of 36 high-quality woodcut prints, which were not colored, but rather, their breathtaking effect comes solely from their black-white line interplay.

Passion – A Christian Term

The word “Passion” is typically understood to mean those physical and spiritual sufferings, which Christ endured in the last days of his earthly life. This theme was especially popular in Germany in 15th and 16th centuries. The church used pictures to tell of the last days in the life of Christ because the majority of the population could neither read nor write. Already in the Middle Ages, a specific iconography of the tale of woe was already elaborated, which was easily recognizable. Albrecht Dürer, as he dedicated himself to the Passion theme, appended his personal and unmistakable additions to the traditional representational motifs.

A jewel of German Renaissance Art

The Small Passion contains true masterworks of the great painter, Dürer, which are not to be found in any other graphic collection of the artist. For example, counted among them is the moving scene of the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane with the mournful Disciples of Christ. Dürer’s engravings enjoyed great popularity in the 16th century and inspired numerous painters and illuminators from across Europe. The famous Belgian artist Simon Bening presented a few miniatures in his Golf Book of Hours that are clearly oriented on scenes from the Small Passion. The precious book treasure was made by Dürer in his home city of Nuremberg and is found today in the private “Puschkin” collection.

Codicology

Alternative Titles
La Pasión Pequeña de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo de Alberto Durero
Albrecht Dürer - La Piccola Passione xilografica
Size / Format
38 pages / 16.0 × 12.0 cm
Origin
Germany
Date
1511
Language
Illustrations
36 woodcuts
Artist / School

Available facsimile editions:
Albrecht Dürer - Small Xylographic Passion – CM Editores – Private Collection
CM Editores – Salamanca, 2013
Limited Edition: 375 copies
Facsimile Editions

#1 La Pasión Pequeña de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo de Alberto Durero

CM Editores – Salamanca, 2013
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€
(1,000€ - 3,000€)
You might also be interested in:
Albrecht Dürer - Small Xilographic Passion - Nuremberg, 1511 – Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte – Private Collection
Albrecht Dürer - Small Xilographic Passion - Nuremberg, 1511
Nuremberg (Germany) – 1511

Featuring 36 masterful woodcuts by arguably the most influential artist of the German Renaissance: a bestseller of Passion literature in one of Dürer's most successful and profitable works

Experience More
Apocalypse with Pictures by Albrecht Dürer – CM Editores – INC / 1 – Biblioteca Nacional de España (Madrid, Spain)
Apocalypse with Pictures by Albrecht Dürer
Nuremberg (Germany) – 1498

The Apocalypse incunabulum by Albrecht Dürer: one of the greatest artistic and financial successes of the artist of the century due to its impressive woodcuts

Experience More
Profane and Sacred Engravings by Albrecht Dürer – CM Editores –
Profane and Sacred Engravings by Albrecht Dürer
Nuremberg (Germany) – End of the 15th century – beginning of the 16th century

Dürer's famous "Knight, Death and the Devil" alongside "Melancholia" and "St. Jerome in his Study": a breathtaking collection of some of the great Renaissance master's most virtuoso woodcuts and engravings

Experience More
The Great Passion by Albrecht Dürer – CM Editores – Invent/29844-855 – Biblioteca Nacional de España (Madrid, Spain)
The Great Passion by Albrecht Dürer
Nuremberg (Germany) – 1511

A jewel of the German Renaissance from the hand of perhaps its greatest master: the ingenious development of Passion iconography in Albrecht Dürer's famous and grandiose woodcuts

Experience More
Life of the Virgin of Albrecht Dürer – CM Editores – ER/1663(1)-ER/1663(16) – Biblioteca Nacional de España (Madrid, Spain) / Albertina Museum (Vienna, Austria)
Life of the Virgin of Albrecht Dürer
Germany – 1504–1511

An artistic testimony to Dürer's most creative period and the veneration of the Virgin Mary around 1500: iconic key scenes from the life of the Holy Virgin in 20 breathtaking woodcuts by the great Renaissance master

Experience More
Triumphal Procession of Emperor Maximilian I - Graz Codex – Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Rara 1   III 11722 – Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg (Heidelberg, Germany)
Triumphal Procession of Emperor Maximilian I - Graz Codex
Wien (Austria) – 1526

A splendid work of Renaissance propaganda created by the finest engravers of the period: 99 colored woodcuts depicting the most triumphal moments from the reign of Emperor Maximilian I

Experience More
Blog articles worth reading
Filter selection
Publisher