(WOODCUT) ~ [Original woodblock for a devotional print of the Crucifixion. Northern France, perhaps Rouen, c. 1800].
(425 × 268 mm). Scatter of old wormholes, minor damage to left and right hand edge, just affecting the border, also to top left corner with minimal repair, old crack towards centre at foot. The cut image still clear and distinct.
An original woodblock for printing a rather naive devotional print of the type issued by the provincial presses of northern France. The lower portion contains the Crucifixion scene, with the Virgin and John the Evangelist (and serpent coiled at the foot of the cross). The borders have portraits, mainly in profile of saints and Catholic church fathers Andrew, Thomas, James, ‘Oesine’ (perhaps Saint Ouen, pointing to Rouen as an origin for the print), Matthias, Phillip, Barnabus, Peter, Paul, James son Zebedee [the Great], Bartholomew and Matthew. Above is a panel depicting Christ in Majesty with the Eye of Heaven (captioned ‘Dieu entend tout’) and the Ear of Heaven (Dieu enten[d] tout) and a cherub holding a placard lettered ‘Pencée [sic], Paroles, Actions’. Most of the block is extensively hatched the lines forming the rays of the sun, billowing clouds and a dark sky. Woodcut remained the dominant medium for such popular prints well into the nineteenth century before the widespread adoption of lithography after about 1825.