The Engraved Passion

The Engraved Passion, a series of 16 small plates of almost identical format, was created over a period of six years from 1507 to 1513. They are regarded as some of Dürer's finest work in the graphic medium, and he himself regarded the set highly, selling it for more than twice the price of the Large Woodcut Passion. He also gave sets to the most prominent and influential patrons he encountered on his travels, including Margaret of Austria and Erasmus of Rotterdam. The personal, bound copy of Frederik the Wise, Prince-Elector of Saxony, is now in the collection of Princeton University.

Whilst the order of the plates is given by the scripture, it has been questioned whether the last plate, Saint Peter and Saint John at the Gate of the Temple forms part of the series, as it does not belong to the narrative of the Passion. Formally and stylistically, however, it clearly does and was probably intended to illustrate the continuation of the spirit of Christ through the Apostles and the Church. This additional plate, as Panofsky pointed out, also allowed Dürer to print the entire set on four sheets of paper by printing four plates to a sheet.

The Engraved Passion is related to a spectacular set of drawings by the artist, dated 1504, on paper with a green base heightened with white and black lavis (the so-called 'Green Passion') in the Albertina (W. 300 ff.).