Apostel Judas Taddeüs c. 1520 - 1550

Antonio da Trento made this chiaroscuro woodcut of the Apostle Jude Thaddeus sometime between 1520 and 1550. The print participates in a tradition of religious imagery that had immense cultural power in 16th-century Europe. Trento was working in a world still deeply shaped by the Catholic Church, where the lives of saints and apostles served as moral examples for the faithful. Woodcuts like this one were relatively affordable and easily reproducible, making them accessible to a broad audience. Consider how such images functioned within the religious and social structures of the time. Did they reinforce established hierarchies, or did they offer avenues for personal interpretation and devotion? As historians, we can look to period texts and religious treatises to understand the cultural significance of figures like Jude Thaddeus and the role of images in shaping religious belief. The meaning of art is always contingent on its historical and institutional context.