Silver Statuette of St. Peter, from the Wittenberg Reliquaries 1472 - 1553

Curator: This woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder depicts Saint Peter, part of what's known as the Wittenberg Reliquaries, dating from 1472 to 1553. Editor: What strikes me first is how graphic and tactile it feels, all those bold lines carving out form and shadow. He seems a bit overwhelmed to be holding all those books... Curator: It's incredible how Cranach achieved such dimensionality using a relatively simple printmaking technique. You're right, those heavy, draped fabrics almost feel like something you could reach out and touch, yet they’re created through the manipulation of the surface. Editor: Precisely! It pushes us to consider what making means here, laboring on blocks and paper to distribute iconography. The consumption and replication are intrinsic. Plus, the halo seems off, unbalanced somehow. Is this intentional? Curator: Intriguing observation about the halo’s asymmetry. It does create a slight sense of unease, doesn't it? It is typical of the era, however, showing Saint Peter both as a spiritual figure but also firmly grounded and approachable in his humanity, grappling with his books, and his place in a changing world. Editor: Perhaps this print highlights a transitional phase—the shift from relic-based devotion to something more text-centered, thanks to emerging print technologies. Think of the power these distributed images held! Curator: Yes, Cranach was very involved in spreading reformist ideology through such prints. Saint Peter's image becomes not just devotional but didactic, shaping belief through accessible media. Editor: So we have an artistic, religious, and economic intersection here, showing just how layered the message and its creation truly is! I might actually be more fascinated with the means of production than with St. Peter. Curator: A fine thing to admire in this northern Renaissance work – that intertwining of craft, purpose, and the spiritual realm, creating something beautiful, useful and truly lasting. Editor: Indeed – the intersection itself being something of a relic of art-making and its context, for sure.