Christ Nailed to the Cross

When Albrecht Altdorfer created this woodcut for a tiny book, the Passion had been uppermost in devotions for a full century. The intimate scale makes clear its role in private meditation, as does the brilliantly foreshortened Christ, whose head extends beyond the frame and into the viewer's lap. Such a device was intended to stir pity for, if not complicity in, Christ's death.