The Crucifixion with the Two Thieves, from the Mysteries of the Rosary

Description

Prints in both Europe and Japan advertised their functions to the viewer. The Florentine printmaker Francesco Rosselli sold his 15-plate Life of the Virgin and Christ series with columns that could be cut out and pasted around the scenes. Surviving examples were used as individual rectangular frames or as part of a larger altarpiece framework. The six large woodcuts of Buddhist deities nearby in this gallery (1961.1004, .1006, .1007, .1010, .1012, and .1015), which were also produced in the 15th century, include their own fictive frames within the prints, visually suggesting their intended use in place of painted scrolls in a temple setting.

Medium

Engraving, printed in gray on paper