From prehistoric times to the present, countless works of art have been produced using engraving techniques. One of four significant collections of religious prints, The Man of Sorrows, contributed to Durer’s prominence as a top Renaissance designer. The other art pieces included the 1511-published woodcut collection of the Great Passion, the Little Passion, and the Life of the Virgin. Durer’s etching of the Man of Sorrows, completed just before his second trip to Italy in 1505, shows the artist’s desire to apply the principles of Classical craftsmanship to Christian subject matter. The fifteen tiny size plates that make up the Man of Sorrows artwork depict the account of Jesus’s betrayal by Judas, his execution, and resurrection.
The engraving shows the Messiah in the contrapposto stance, which was used in historical statues of the past. The shoulders and hips are twisted in a slight counterbalance, shifting the balance of the body to one side. Moreover, Christ and the Passional emblems can be seen in the right foreground. The artwork depicts the scourges of humiliation, such as the crown of thorns, birch and rope, injuries, and the column. In addition, the arrangements of every plate in this engraving are spectacular, detailed, and complex, with intense combinations of shadow and light. Durer is recognized for developing fresh, inventive approaches to portray Christian stories.
The etching of the Man of Sorrows was created to arouse viewers’ love and empathy. As the smirking Roman soldier ridicules Jesus’ claim to be the ruler of the universe, Durer shows the Messiah with his hands clutched in pleading pain. This engraving would have functioned as a treasured devotional depiction of the crucified Christ, providing a subject for reflection on his eternal anguish in a situation outside the period and location of the Gospel accounts. It was created with greater delicacy and expense than a detailed woodcut. The Man of Sorrows is a character that is simultaneously divine and realistically human, ageless yet palpable.