Three Marys at the Tomb 

Editor: Here we have "Three Marys at the Tomb", a woodcut print by Urs Graf. The whole composition feels so packed, and the color choices seem unusual for such a solemn scene. What catches your eye about this work? Curator: Initially, the linear quality of the woodcut itself commands attention. Notice how Graf employs hatching and cross-hatching not merely to describe form but to structure the visual space, creating varied textures. The color, added later, seems less concerned with naturalism than with a symbolic articulation. Editor: Symbolic, how so? Curator: Observe how certain colors reappear: the reddish hues unify the scattered figures in the middle-ground while also drawing our eye through a winding narrative across a variety of sites: from the city atop a hill in the background, all the way up a pathway, and ultimately to a door by the bottom right of the composition. Also, note the orthogonals converging into the doorframe from where the Marys are observing. Can you notice anything significant in the distance? Editor: The city off in the distance is touched by divine rays. But you're saying that even without knowing the narrative, the *visual* elements are guiding us to a certain reading? Curator: Precisely. Look at how the artist’s signature at the lower-left of the image is neatly juxtaposed to the holy beam of light emanating from the heavens. It makes the scene come to life! What do you think of the relationship between the different spaces where action occurs? Editor: That's fascinating! I came in thinking about the story, but now I see how much the lines and color create their own kind of meaning. Curator: Exactly. Graf uses these formal elements not only to illustrate a biblical story but to create a dynamic, self-referential artwork whose symbolic language speaks through composition, line, and chromatic relationships. This print offers a dense synthesis of narrative and form, typical of the era’s artistic aims.