Daniel Hopfer, I
German, 1470-1536
Jesus Christ Parting from the Virgin to go and Suffer Death
INV-4535
Daniel Hopfer, I
German, 1470-15361505/36; printed 1682/1709
Jesus Christ Parting from the Virgin to go and Suffer Death
Daniel Hopfer, I German, 1470-1536 →etchingprint
Date
1505/36; printed 1682/1709
Medium
Etching in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 28.7 × 21.7 cm (11 5/16 × 8 9/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
The Charles Deering Collection
While artists often portrayed the Virgin lamenting her son’s suffering in Passion cycles, Daniel Hopfer I’s visionary image depicts the Virgin sobbing before Christ’s betrayal, scourging, and crucifixion. Knowing her son will die a gruesome death, she feels physical pain at his departure. Hopfer literally depicted the Virgin’s heart-wrenching pain as the hilt of a sword projecting from her chest. This rugged etching pitilessly shows an aged Virgin clinging to her grown son as tears roll down her face.
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