The subject is Christ mocked; but the artist has at the same time wished to express in the figure of Christ the variety of his sufferings: the Saviour prays as if in his agony on the mount; near him lies the instrument of his flagellation; his hands and feet bear the marks of the nails, and he appears seated on the covering of his sepulchre. The soldier is kneeling and offering a reed as a sceptre to Christ, whom he hails in derision as King of the Jews. The three following cuts are reduced copies of the same number in the Passion of Christ. In the cut of the Last Supper, in the next page, cross-hatching is freely introduced, though without contributing much to the improvement of the engraving; and the same effect in the wall to the right, in the groins of the roof, and in the floor under the table, might be produced by much simpler means. No artist, I am persuaded, would introduce such work in a design if he had to engrave it himself. The same “colour” might be produced by single lines which could be executed in a third of the time required to cut out the interstices of the cross-hatchings. Durer’s mark is at the bottom of the cut, and the date 1510 is perceived above it, on the frame of the table. The cut on page 249, from the Passion, Christ bearing his Cross, is highly characteristic of Durer’s style; and the original is one of the best of all the wood engravings which bear his mark. The characters introduced are such as he was fondest of drawing; and most of the heads and figures may be recognised in several other engravings either executed by himself on copper or by others on wood from his designs. [Illustration] The figure which is seen holding a kind of halbert in his right hand is a favourite with Durer, and is introduced, with trifling variations, in at least half a dozen of his subjects; and the horseman with a kind of turban on his head and a lance in his left hand occurs no less frequently. St. Veronica, who is seen holding the “sudarium,” or holy handkerchief, in the fore-ground to the left, is a type of his female figures; the head of the executioner, who is seen urging Christ forward, is nearly the same as that of the mocker in the preceding vignette; and Simon the Cyrenian, who assists to bear the cross, appears to be the twin-brother of St. Joseph in the Sojourn in Egypt. The figure of Christ, bowed down with the weight of the cross, is well drawn, and his face is strongly expressive of sorrow. Behind Simon the Cyrenian are the Virgin and St. John; and under the gateway a man with a haggard visage is perceived carrying a ladder with his head between the steps. The artist’s mark is at the bottom of the cut. [Illustration]