In open countryside Jesus and the apostles stand across the landscape as a cluster of the sick and the lame with their crutches as well as the clacking noisemakers of lepers (at lower right) spread seated across the ground before them.

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Jesus stands in silent prayer in the center of the composition; his head also appears slightly higher than any of the other figures. Again the garments of the ordinary people, especially their hats, seem tied to Cranach’s contemporary world, while the robes of Jesus and the apostles display the timeless design common to the artist’s biblical imagery. While many healing passages of the Gospels could be cited, the text below Cranach’s woodcut cites Philippians 2: 6-8, which emphasizes the human aspects of Christ on earth and his humility, in keeping with the other imagery of the Passional.

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Works Cited

• Silver, Larry. Pieter Bruegel. New York: Abbeville, 2011.
• Tóth-Ubbens, Magdi. Verloren Beelden van Miserabele Bedelaars. Lochem: De Tijdstroom, 1987.
• Rosenberg, Charles. Rembrandt’s Religious Prints. Notre Dame: Snite Museum, 2017.