The Flagellation, from The Large Passion

The Flagellation, from The Large Passion by Albrecht Dürer German, 1471-1528, is a pivotal work of the Northern Renaissance, executed between 1496 and 1497. This powerful print is one installment from Dürer's monumental series detailing the suffering and sacrifice of Christ, a project that cemented his reputation as the foremost graphic artist of his era. The artist employed the exacting medium of woodcut, rendered in black ink on cream laid paper, elevating this often-crude form of printmaking into high art.

Dürer's masterful handling of the woodcut technique is evident in the dynamic and compact composition. To achieve such complexity, the artist had to meticulously carve the negative space away from the wooden block, leaving the image in sharp relief. The resulting lines in this work are densely packed and cross-hatched, generating dramatic volume and deep shadows that emphasize the brutality of the event. The scene tightly focuses on the tormented figure of Christ, bound firmly to a column and aggressively assaulted by his tormentors, showcasing Dürer’s early command of human anatomy and emotional intensity.

Produced in Germany at the height of the printmaking boom, the wide dissemination of such religious narratives fundamentally shifted patterns of private devotion and made sophisticated art accessible to a broader audience. Dürer was instrumental in demonstrating the artistic and commercial legitimacy of prints as collectible works. This piece, which exemplifies the graphic narrative strength of the German master's approach to the Passion cycle, is housed within the prestigious prints collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.