Christ Taking Leave of His Mother, from "The Life of the Virgin" (copy)

Christ Taking Leave of His Mother, from "The Life of the Virgin" (copy), by Albrecht Dürer, is a powerful example of Northern Renaissance prints, executed in the demanding medium of woodcut. This piece belongs to Dürer's celebrated series chronicling the life of the Virgin Mary, a cycle produced during the height of the artist’s graphic experimentation between 1485 and 1528.

The composition captures the profound, sorrowful moment of separation between Christ and his Mother before the Passion. The figures of Christ and the Virgin Mary dominate the scene, imbued with an emotional tension characteristic of Dürer's work. The meticulous line work, which the artist mastered to elevate the status of the print medium, effectively conveys the distress of the women witnessing Christ’s departure. The subject matter served both devotional and didactic purposes, reminding viewers of the human suffering inherent in the divine sacrifice.

Dürer revolutionized how religious narratives were disseminated; his innovative woodcuts allowed detailed, expressive artworks to reach a wider public. While the original design was created by the master, the classification of this piece as a copy highlights the immediate and enormous popularity of the entire The Life of the Virgin cycle, prompting numerous reproductions across Europe.

This specific woodcut is housed within the vast print collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The accessibility and historical significance of masterworks like these, created centuries ago, often ensures that high-resolution images of the artwork are widely available in the public domain for study and appreciation.