Two Engravings Depicting Pontius Pilate Washing His Hands After Albrecht Dürer
When
Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking
out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd,
saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood. Look to it yourselves." (New
American Bible, Matthew 27:24)
These two engravings depict a critical moment from the Passion of Christ: the point when the means of His demise-His crucifixion-was set in motion. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, had an opportunity to pardon Christ, thereby ensuring his safety. Rather than doing this, Pilate chose to wash his hands of the matter, bowing to the pressure from the crowd.
In the foreground, Pontius Pilate sits enthroned, wearing a turban, robe, and sandals. An attendant, attired in a richly decorated and beribboned court costume, pours water from a pitcher, enabling Pilate to wash his hands. To Pilate's side stands a man presumably intended to represent Jewish authorities, wearing a simple hat with rounded crown and a shawl around his shoulders; this may be a reference to the tallit or prayer shawl worn by Jews. In the middle ground, a Roman soldier, with backward glance, leads Christ toward Golgotha ("Place of the Skull"). Christ is portrayed after His mocking, attired in a cloak and wearing the crown of thorns. In the background, a procession of soldiers is visible marching through the gates of the city and climbing the hill to Golgotha, where crosses mark Christ's final destination. Outside the walls, the sea is visible. The setting is a medieval European city, with a central castle-in this case, the venue for Pilate's trial of Christ-surrounded by buildings and fortified with a palace wall. Frequently, Renaissance artists such as Dürer relocated biblical scenes to more familiar terrain in this manner.
Although the two engravings share subject and style, one is true to Dürer's original design, and the other shows a much less experienced artist's hand. Artists were accustomed to engraving plates with the design in reverse, so that when the composition was imprinted on a sheet of paper, the design would be properly oriented. The print that appears to be backwards is the result of an inexperienced artist copying Dürer's design verbatim, so that when the plate was printed, every detail appeared reversed. Even Albrecht Dürer's distinctive "AD" insignia and the date "1512" have been flipped. In addition to this lack of understanding of basic printmaking techniques, the quality of the print is inferior. The reversed engraving has been more roughly and boldly executed than the companion print, which possesses a finer and more varied quality of line and a wonderfully nuanced handling of shades from light to dark.
The German artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was tremendously influential in his time and continues to fascinate scholars of Renaissance art with his engravings, etchings, and woodcuts. His significance lies in his ability to translate with fluency the basic principles of the Italian Renaissance into the Northern European style. Dürer was internationally known and admired, and his artwork was available to a wide audience through prints. His superb and brilliantly crafted engravings and woodcuts were made in multiples and dispersed across Europe, providing models for artists across Europe for centuries following his death.