Albrecht Altdorfer’s woodcut, “The Betrayal”, c1513

Albrecht Altdorfer (1482/5–1538)

“The Betrayal” or “Prise au Jardin” (Bartsch title) (aka “Arrest of Christ” [BM]), c.1513, from the series, “Fall and Redemption of Man” (aka “The Fall and Salvation of Mankind Through the Life and Passion of Christ” [the Met])

Woodcut on laid paper with narrow margins.

Size: (sheet) 7.4 x 5.1 cm; (image borderline) 7.2 x 4.9 cm

Signed upper right with monogram: “AA”

TIB 14 (6) 20 (74) (Rober A Koch [Ed.] 1980, “The Illustrated Bartsch 14: Early German Masters”, p. 126); Dodgson 1903, 1911 II.225.20a (Dodgson, Campbell, "Catalogue of Early German and Flemish Woodcuts in the BM", 2 vols, London, British Museum Trustees, 1903); Bartsch VIII.74.20 (Bartsch, Adam, "Le Peintre graveur", 21 vols, Vienna, 1803); New Hollstein (German) w.20 (Altdorfer) (Hollstein, F W H, "The New Hollstein: German engravings, etchings and woodcuts 1400-1700", Amsterdam, 1996); Winsinger 45 (F Winzinger, “Albrecht Altdorfer Zeichnungen: Gesamtausgabe”, Munich, 1952)

See also the description of this print at The British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1420731&partId=1&searchText=Albrecht+Altdorfer+woodcut&page=1

Condition: superb lifetime impression in near faultless condition hinged to a support sheet.

I am selling this exceptionally rare, museum-quality, lifetime impression for the total cost of AU$550 (currently US$427.52/EUR359.33/GBP318.57 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this masterwork by one of the most important of the Renaissance German printmakers, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

This rich jewel of a woodcut is so finely executed that it resembles an engraving. Indeed, a lesser printmaker might be tempted to mimic the portrayed bouncing effect of radiating light by simply cutting “white”/negative lines. If one looks closely at the radiating lines at the top of the composition, however, Altdorfer has—with almost unbelievable patience and skill—created incredibly fine black/positive outlines around each shaft of radiating light. Even more astonishing, he has chiselled fine contour marks with the thickness of a hair on the figures to render them with luminous shadows. Amazing!