Descent from the Cross

From the museum

This copy of a scene from Albrecht Dürer’s Passion series was made in reverse of the composition by attaching the original print to a plate and then engraving over the lines. The copy shows a lack of control in line widths, depths, and patterns—possibly due to inferior tools or inks—resulting in an image that printed weakly and that lacks the spatial depth and rich tonality of Dürer’s model. However, some consumers of the period were more interested in the biblical subject matter than in the copy’s quality or its connection to Dürer.

The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0