Preview
Description
Copper engraving.
The engravings in this picture bible are attributed to Johann Andreas Pfeffel the Elder (1674-1748), a German engraver and print seller who worked in Vienna and Augsburg. His printing establishment in Augsburg issued Johann Jakob Scheuchzer’s famous scientific commentary on the Bible, the Physica Sacra; also known as the Kupfer-Bibel. His son, Johann Andreas Pfeffel the Younger (1715- 1768), also an engraver, reportedly worked upon plates of that work, which was printed in 1735. Later in his life Pfeffel the Elder became the royal engraver at Vienna.
Analysis
In this illustration, again, the figure of Christ is shown levitating at the center of the scene. He is surrounded by a radiant light, his face serene. He holds his right arm up to the heavens, his palm showing the wound from the nail. An angel lifts the cover of the sarcophagus. The soldiers react fearfully, twisting and crawling away. One soldier stands with a shield. Cherubim hold a banner above, announcing the glory of Jesus’s conquest over death.
Rights
Artwork in the public domain.