Head of Christ, Claude Mellan

Episode 261 Mar-2008, revised May 2012, Robert Fucci I’m David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. In the traditional intaglio printmaking technique of engraving, the artist cuts into a metal plate with a sharp tool, inks the incisions, and transfers the ink to paper. The Spencer collection holds a highly unusual engraving by the 17th-century French artist Claude Mellan. The large sheet depicts the head of Christ as it miraculously appeared on Veronica's veil when she used it to wipe his brow. Crowned with thorns and dripping blood, Christ looks out at us with mournful eyes. The image is haunting, but what astonished Mellan's contemporaries - and continues to astonish us today - is the manner in which the artist created this work. Mellan engraved the copperplate with a single, continuous line that spirals outward from the tip of Christ's nose to the edge of the plate. This tour-de-force of the engraver's art required careful planning and a highly controlled hand that could make the line swell and taper according to the needs of the image. Just as Christ's head miraculously appeared on Veronica's veil, Mellan boldly tells us, so too does this image miraculously print on a sheet of paper. With thanks to Robert Fucci for his text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.