Nürnberg 1471 – 1528 Nürnberg

The Harrowing of Hell (Christ in Limbo), 1510

Woodcut from The Large Passion, Latin text edition of 1511

398 x 282 mm.; 15 11/16 x 11 1/8 inches

References:

Bartsch 14

Meder 21

Notes:

1. A fine impression from the Latin text edition of 1511.

2. The Large Passion consists of twelve large format woodcuts. Four of these, including this woodcut, were executed by Dürer in 1510 just before the appearance of the whole series in 1511. These were: this Harrowing of Hell, the Last Supper, the Betrayal of Christ, and the Resurrection. At the same time, Dürer added two woodcuts to the Life of the Virgin series: the Death of the Virgin and the Assumption and Coronation. In 1511 Dürer also executed frontispieces for the 1511 editions of the Large Passion, the Life of the Virgin and the Apocalypse. In all of these works from 1510-1511, there is extensive use of cross-hatchings over the underlying convex forms, resulting in a clair-obscur appearance, not present in the earlier works from the same three series of woodcuts.