Christ Before Caiaphas

One of Dürer's most influential projects is his Engraved Passion, a series of sixteen prints depicting Christ's final days on Earth. Collectors coveted these small but intricate images, admiring the artist for his skill in manipulating compositional elements for dramatic effect. This scene of high priest Caiaphas accusing Jesus of blasphemy takes place in a windowless interior that offers no relief in the form of a window or an empty space. Dürer thus emphasizes the confrontation between Christ and his corpulent tormenter whose distorted features underscore his cruelty.