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Original filePassio Christi, from the Allegorical Scenes from the Life of Christ
About This Work
Christ is shown seated in the center, leaning against a large wooden cross while looking upward toward a personification of Charity (Caritas) appearing in the clouds with infants. To his left, the figures of Faith (Fidelis) and Obedience (Obedientia) stand near a defeated skeletal figure representing Death or Sin. The composition is enclosed in an elaborate border featuring circular vignettes of symbolic animals like the pelican and lion, alongside scenes from the Passion of Christ.
This work represents the peak of Haarlem Mannerist printmaking, where complex theological concepts are translated into a dense 'visual language' of emblems and types. It reflects the Renaissance interest in typology—the study of Old Testament events as prefigurations of the New Testament—a method central to the natural theology and esoteric biblical interpretation of the period.