The Sudarium

Hans Schlaffer of Ulm

ca. 1470–75 · Woodcut, hand-colored. · Drawings and Prints

Signed at the lower margin by Hans Schlaffer, a woodcutter and publisher active in Ulm during the last thirty years of the fifteenth century, this is one of the few prints from this period that displays the name of its creator. A true capitalist, Schlaffer (and others) frequently rendered simple versions of existing compositions to fill the popular demand for sacred imagery. For the prototype to this woodcut, Schlaffer copied a finer print, probably created in Nuremberg and now in London's Guildhall Library. The sudarium was believed to have been the only true image of Christ; Saint Veronica offered him her cloth as he struggled under the weight of the cross, and his image miraculously appeared on the fabric as he wiped his face.

Artist

Hans Schlaffer of Ulm

Date

ca. 1470–75

Medium

Woodcut, hand-colored.

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1941