The Large Passion

 

Illustrated by Albrecht Dürer

 

 

Albrecht Dürer's suite of illustrations known as the The Large Passion is a set of 11 images

derived from woodcut plates created by Dürer over more than 10 years between 1497 to 1510.

 

Stylistically, the imagery within The Large Passion is characterized by a natural treatment of

the subjects and a clear devotion to depicting strongly their emotions. Thus, Dürer chose a method that departed radically from the Late Gothic School and firmly set the imagery within the German Renaissance.

 

 

 

 

To the right, we show the effective Title Page

to Dürer's The Large Passion.

 

Knackfuss (Durer: H Grevel & Co, London; 1900) describes The Large Passion thus:

 

In the Passion the difference between the older compositions and the four new ones

dates 1510, in which the cutting has been successfully done, is very great ... [I]n the

Last Supper ... [t]he saying, "One of you shall betray me", causes an excitement among

the apostles; Judas cowers, hides his moneybag and makes as if he were the last one

whom the words could concern. The next of the cuts of 1510 represents the Betrayal

of Christ, a scene full of animation and passionate movement. The hand and lips of

the betrayer still touch the head of the Betrayed, and the latter is already bound with

cords, while the fierce, tumultuous throng make ready to drag off the victim, who,

in this fearful moment, in which his destiny of suffering is being accomplished in fact,

sends a look of human terror to implore help from heaven. The fierce anger of Peter,

who brandishes the sword over the servant Malchus, thrown violently to the ground,

is as easy to understand as it is ineffectual in result. The two other new compositions

form the conclusion of the Passion, Christ's Descent into Hell and his Resurrection ...

[Dürer] carries us by the force of his imagination into Limbo, where Christ delivers the

Souls of the Patriarchs out of a deep dungeon amidst the ineffectual raging of hideous

devilish shapes. Behind those who have been set free we see the open gate of Hell,

which discloses to the eye nothing but a boundless sea of ever-burning flames, the heat

of which, as it rises, makes a draught in which the Redeemer's flag of victory is seen to

flutter. No less magnificent is the picture of the Resurrection. A strong guard of armed

men surrounds the sepulchre. Some of them are asleep; an old warrior gives a rough

shake to one of these who are forgetting their duty; one is just waking, and opens his

eyes with a yawn, seeing without yet comprehending what he sees; others, however,

are aware of the miracle which is taking place. Over the closed stone lid of the grave,

on which are seen the seals placed by those in authority still intact, the Saviour ascends,

received into a cloud and greeted by hosts of cherubim. He raises his countenance, with

the threefold glory of rays surrounding it which betokens his Divinity, towards heaven;

in his left hand he holds the banner of victory, with his right hand he blesses the world

which he has redeemed by the accomplishment of his Passion.

 

 

Our Greeting Cards and Reproduction Prints

 

 

For connoisseurs, we have prepared sets of 11 Greeting Cards displaying each of the images from Dürer's The Large Passion and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear. Ordering one of those sets is as easy as selecting the "Add to Cart" feature below and following the prompts provided with our Shopping Cart secured through PayPal. Multiple purchases will be consolidated by that feature and shipping and handling costs to any destination in the world are accommodated by our flat-rate fee of US$20 for every US$200 worth of purchases.

 

 

Code: AD LP MS(11)
Price: US$55.00

 

When presented on Greeting Cards, these images are prepared as tipped-on plates - in hommage to the hand-crafted

approach typical of prestige illustrated publications produced in the early decades of the 20th Century. Each card is

hand-finished and the images are presented on White card stock with an accompanying envelope. On the rear of each

card we also present some information about this great work and each individual illustration. We have left the interior

of the cards blank so that you may write your own personal message.

 

Should you wish to order a Reproduction Print from this suite, we have provided some options below. Of course,

should you wish to discuss some customised options, we welcome your contact on any matter through

ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com.

 

In the meantime, enjoy perusing these images from The Large Passion of Albrecht Dürer.

 

 

Dürer's illustrations for The Large Passion

 

 

Christ on the Mount of Olives

 

 

The Flagellation of Christ

Ecce Homo

 

 

Christ Bearing the Cross

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: AD LP M1 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: AD LP M2 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: AD LP M3 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: AD LP M4 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 
The Crucifixion

The Lamentation for Christ

 

The Entombment

 

 

The Last Supper

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: AD LP M5 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: AD LP M6 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: AD LP M7 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: AD LP M8 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

 
Christ Taken Captive

Christ in Limbo

The Resurrection

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: AD LP M9 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: AD LP M10 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: AD LP M11 (12x18)
Price: US$60.00