Christ Purifying the Temple 1507

Editor: This is Hans Schäufelein’s woodcut, “Christ Purifying the Temple.” It's a flurry of activity, but everyone looks so startled. What can you tell me about the historical context of this piece? Curator: It's fascinating to consider the socio-political lens here. Schäufelein was working during the Reformation, a time of immense religious and social upheaval. How might this scene of Christ challenging authority resonate with the anxieties of the time? Editor: That’s a great question. I suppose it could be viewed as a call for religious reform. The temple merchants are literally being overthrown. Curator: Exactly. And this image, being a print, would have been relatively accessible. Think about its potential to circulate and influence public opinion. Editor: I hadn’t considered how widely it could have been disseminated. It seems this image carried significant weight during a period of religious transformation. Curator: Precisely. Seeing art as active in the world changes everything.