Artwork
Christ and the Woman of Samaria
Christ and the Woman of Samaria is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder. It dates from 1512 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1512, this woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder portrays the encounter between Christ and the Samaritan woman at the well. Executed as a print, the image is part of the National Gallery of Art’s collection in Washington, D.C., and exemplifies Cranach’s engagement with biblical subjects during the early Reformation period.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a narrow well equipped with a pulley and bucket, where the Samaritan woman and a male figure stand beside the water’s edge. Additional figures gather around, suggesting a communal setting. The scene visualizes the Gospel narrative in which Christ offers spiritual insight to the woman, emphasizing themes of revelation and dialogue across social boundaries.
Technique & Style
The linear quality of the carving yields a clear, graphic contrast, while the inclusion of the monogram *LVC* on the well serves as a discreet signature.
Cranach employed the woodcut method, carving the design into a wooden block and printing it onto paper. The linear quality of the carving yields a clear, graphic contrast, while the inclusion of the monogram *LVC* on the well serves as a discreet signature. The work’s compositional balance, with foreground figures framed by trees and a distant town, reflects the artist’s characteristic blend of detail and narrative clarity.
History & Provenance
Originally produced for devotional books, the print circulated as a means of disseminating biblical stories to a broad audience. Over the centuries it entered various collections before being acquired by the National Gallery of Art, where it remains accessible for study and exhibition.
Context
Cranach’s role as court painter to the Electors of Saxony and his later association with the Protestant Reformation informed his production of religious imagery. This woodcut illustrates how print media were harnessed to support reformist ideas, making scriptural narratives more widely available and influencing the visual culture of early sixteenth‑century Germany.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving.
