Christ's Entry into Jerusalem c. 1450

This print, Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem, was made by an anonymous artist, and it shows the use of woodcut, with later color added. The linear quality comes from the way the artist carved into the block of wood, cutting away everything that wasn't meant to print. Look closely, and you can see the way the ink sits slightly proud of the paper, a testament to the pressure applied in the printing process. The added colors, applied by hand after the print was made, would have been a laborious process, and are quite muted. Woodcuts like this were relatively inexpensive to produce. Although there was a lot of hand labor involved, the image could be multiplied many times. This allowed for the wider distribution of religious imagery, reaching people beyond the wealthy elite who could afford unique paintings. So, next time you see a print, remember that it is not just an image, but also a testament to the democratizing power of reproducible media.