Wolfgang Huber
German, 1490-1553
The Large Crucifixion
INV-1193
Wolfgang Huber
German, 1490-1553c. 1516
The Large Crucifixion
Wolfgang Huber German, 1490-1553 →woodcutprint
Date
c. 1516
Medium
Woodcut in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
12.3 × 9.4 cm (4 7/8 × 3 3/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Through prior acquistions of the Mr. and Mrs. Potter Palmer Jr. Collection
Wolfgang Huber was a member of the Danube School, innovative painters and printmakers of landscapes who were active around the Danube River in Austria and southern Germany in the early 16th century. This striking Crucifixion scene intersperses trees with the crosses at Calvary. The woodcut makes the landscape as important a character as Jesus, his mother, and the apostle John. The wind can be seen in the fluttering of Jesus’s loincloth and John’s garment, while the setting sun marks the end of Christ’s human life. Sunlight seamlessly glides down the Cross into the hills beyond, heightening the drama with impending darkness.