Who painted Christ before Herod?

Christ before Herod was painted by German 15th Century in 1438.

Where can I see Christ before Herod?

Christ before Herod is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Christ before Herod?

Christ before Herod is associated with Renaissance.

Artwork

Christ before Herod

German 15th Century , 1438

Christ before Herod is an ink print by the Renaissance artist German 15th Century. It dates from 1438 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Christ before Herod is a hand‑colored woodcut print that employs a limited palette of red lake, green, yellow, tan and orange. The image presents two standing figures against a sparse backdrop of stylized foliage, rendered in flat, bold tones without gradation.

Technique & Style

The work was produced by carving a design into a wooden block, inking the relief, and pressing it onto paper. After printing, the image was manually painted with vivid pigments, a common practice in early European printmaking that allowed for limited color variation while preserving the crisp, linear quality of the woodcut.

Subject & Meaning

The composition depicts a scene in which a man in a striped yellow‑green robe and feathered hat stands beside a figure in a bright red garment with yellow stripes and a crown‑like headdress, suggesting a dialogue between a ruler and an authority figure, traditionally identified as the encounter between Christ and Herod.

Context

Woodcuts of this type were widely circulated in the late medieval and early modern periods as affordable means of reproducing religious narratives. The use of hand‑applied color enhanced their visual appeal for devotional purposes while maintaining the reproducibility of the print medium.