Description
The Flagellation by Albrecht Dürer shows Christ bound beside a column as his tormentors gather around him, their raised arms and angled bodies giving the scene a harsh rhythm. The architectural supports make a firm vertical setting against which the movement of the figures becomes especially forceful. The Flagellation concentrates on the contrast between the restrained central body and the activity of those inflicting violence.
From The Small Passion, the woodcut keeps the episode close and legible through strong contours and overlapping gestures. The column anchors the composition, while dark passages around the figures sharpen the exposed light of Christ’s body. Clothing, stone and flesh are distinguished through the direction and density of the marks. The image’s power lies in its compressed space, which makes cruelty and endurance visible as immediate relationships between human figures.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Dürer collection.
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