Artwork
Letter E
Letter E is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Hans Lützelburger. It dates from 1523 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Letter E is a small woodcut print produced circa 1523 by the German blockcutter Hans Lützelburger, who worked in Augsburg during the early sixteenth century. The image presents two figures—a standing, robed figure and a kneeling figure holding a scroll—set within a simple rectangular border. The composition is rendered in crisp, linear relief, characteristic of early Renaissance printmaking.
Subject & Meaning
The scene appears to depict a didactic exchange: the upright figure offers a written document, perhaps a letter or a lesson, to the kneeling individual who studies it attentively. The emphasis on the scroll and the act of presentation suggests themes of learning, transmission of knowledge, or the ritual of instruction common in humanist visual culture of the period.
Technique & Style
Lützelburger executed the work by carving a single wood block in relief, leaving the intended lines raised while removing the surrounding surface.
Lützelburger executed the work by carving a single wood block in relief, leaving the intended lines raised while removing the surrounding surface. The resulting print displays sharp, clean contours without gradated shading, relying on line to define form and space. This precise incising reflects the cutter’s reputation for meticulous craftsmanship, a skill also evident in his contributions to the larger Dance of Death series.
History & Provenance
Hans Lützelburger, best known for cutting the blocks of Hans Holbein the Younger’s Dance of Death, created Letter E shortly before his death in 1526. Although the print is not part of a larger series, it survives as an example of his independent work and illustrates his role in the Augsburg workshop network of the 1520s. Its survival in museum collections attests to its value as a representative piece of early German woodcut printing.
Artist & collection
Artist
Hans Lützelburger (died June 1526), also known as Hans Franck, was a German blockcutter ("formschneider") for woodcuts, regarded as one of the finest of his day.
