Nativity and Passion of Christ
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
Broadsheets, in which the images are accompanied by text, depict extraordinary happenings, omens, historical events, portraits, and traditional folktales. Nativity and Passion of Christ demonstrates clearly the practical function of broadsheets in a semi-literate society. The illustrations are placed around a German prayer which tells of Christ's birth and the redemption of mankind through his Passion. The Nativity with an Adoration of the Shepherds is represented in the center, above which a hand is shown indicating various scenes from the Passion of Christ, which would be pointed out as the prayer was recited. Members of the Christian estate are represented on either side: on the left is a group of ecclesiastics behind a figure of the Pope, and on the right a cluster of secular figures are assembled behind the Holy Roman emperor.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionSimilar works
The Nativity and Passion of Christ
The Tree of the Covenant, 1578
Maximilian's Alliance with Henry VIII; The Double Wedding in Vienna; The Campaign in Gelderland; The Investiture of Massimiliano Sforza as Duke of Milan; and The Venetian War, from the Arch of Honor, proof, dated 1515, printed 1517-18
The Marriage of Philip the Fair to Joanna of Austria; Maximilian Recaptures the Occupied Territories from Hungary; The Conquest of Hungary; The Swiss War; The Liberation of Naples; and The Battle of Wenzenberg, from the Arch of Honor, proof, dated 1515, printed 1517-18
Maximilian Presented by His Patron Saints to the Almighty
The Upper Section of the Right Portal, with the Inscription on a Stag Skin; a Frieze with Busts of Roman Emperors; and the Entablature of the Columns, from the Arch of Honor, proof, dated 1515, printed 1517-18