Christus met de passiewerktuigen 1455 - 1503

Israhel van Meckenem created this engraving of Christ with the Instruments of the Passion in Germany around 1480-1503. During this period, the Church had immense cultural and political power, and religious imagery was carefully controlled and used to instill particular beliefs. Here, Christ stands wearily, almost as if he needs the support of the cross. He is surrounded by symbols that denote the suffering he endured: the crown of thorns, the ladder used to take him down from the cross, and the instruments with which he was whipped. Van Meckenem’s engraving wasn’t just a devotional image; it was a commodity sold at fairs and markets. Artists were increasingly part of a commercial world, and their imagery was shaped by economic forces as much as by religious doctrine. The social history of art invites us to look beyond the image itself and to explore the conditions in which it was made and consumed, using account books, inventories, and other archival sources to understand the place of art in society.