Lucretia 1514 - 1524

This small print of Lucretia was made by Hans Baldung, around 1514, using a woodcut. To make a woodcut like this, Baldung would have used knives and gouges to carve away the areas of a wood block that he didn’t want to print, leaving a raised design. Ink was then applied to the surface, and the image transferred to paper by applying pressure. The process would have been labor-intensive, demanding both physical strength and patience. The very act of cutting into the wood—a material associated with furniture and construction—imbues the image with a tactile, muscular quality. Look closely, and you can see how the artist has used his tools to create texture. See the fine lines that define Lucretia’s face and hair, as well as the hatching that models her body. Prints like this were relatively inexpensive and could be reproduced multiple times, making them accessible to a broad audience. By considering this work in terms of its making, we realize that it is not only an image, but also an object deeply embedded in a specific time, place, and culture.