The Descent from the Cross, from "The Small Passion"

The Descent from the Cross, from "The Small Passion" is a powerful woodcut print created by Albrecht Dürer between 1509 and 1510. This work is a key component of Dürer’s renowned devotional series comprising thirty-six blocks, collectively known as The Small Passion. As a pivotal master of the Northern Renaissance, Dürer dramatically elevated the quality and emotional intensity achievable in prints, demonstrating that the challenging medium of the woodcut could convey the detail traditionally reserved for engraving.

This composition focuses intensely on the emotional and physical difficulty of removing Christ’s body from the cross. Several figures, including devoted Men and Women, are actively engaged in the task, using Ladders that lean sharply against the timber. Dürer utilizes shadow and fine line work to heighten the drama and emphasize the grief of the surrounding mourners, juxtaposing the weight of the body with the delicate gestures of support. The composition is tightly cropped, centering attention on the figures struggling within the confines of the narrative space.

Produced during a prolific period of religious publishing, this series of prints allowed Dürer's theological and artistic vision to circulate widely across Europe, cementing his international reputation as a graphic artist. Today, high-quality impressions of Dürer’s work, such as this example, reside in major institutional collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a canonical 16th-century masterwork, the image is frequently studied as an example of early public domain art history, available for analysis of Renaissance iconography.