Sudarium Displayed By Two Angels 1513

Albrecht Dürer created this engraving titled "Sudarium Displayed By Two Angels," circa 1513, during the Northern Renaissance. Dürer, who was from Nuremberg, Germany, would have witnessed the beginnings of the Reformation. This movement significantly impacted the production and reception of religious art. The work depicts two winged angels holding up the sudarium, a cloth bearing the face of Jesus after his crucifixion. Dürer masterfully renders the face with a sorrowful expression, framed by a crown of thorns. The angels, draped in elaborate robes, display the cloth as a sacred relic, inviting viewers into a moment of contemplation and spiritual reflection. Dürer’s detailed engraving technique captures both the physical texture of the cloth and the emotional weight of the scene. The print served as a powerful devotional image at a time of intense religious change and introspection. It offered a focal point for personal meditation on the suffering and salvation central to Christian belief.