Christus kondigt zijn lijden aan - Doen Pietersz.

A sixteenth-century hand-coloured woodcut by Doen Pietersz. depicting Christ addressing his disciples, rendered with the bold lines of Northern Renaissance printmaking.

This hand-coloured woodcut by the Dutch printmaker Doen Pietersz. depicts a scene from the New Testament: Christ foretelling his suffering to his disciples. The composition is typical of early sixteenth-century book illustration, where narrative clarity was prioritised over complex spatial depth. Christ stands on the left, gesturing upwards, while a group of disciples gathers behind him, their expressions and postures conveying a sense of solemn attention. The figures are rendered with bold, clear outlines, a characteristic of the woodcut medium, which allowed for efficient reproduction in printed volumes of the period.

The application of colour, likely added by hand after the initial printing, provides a distinct visual rhythm to the scene. The use of primary and secondary hues—deep reds, greens, and ochres—helps to differentiate the figures from the background landscape. The background itself is minimal, featuring a simplified architectural element and a suggestion of a natural setting, which keeps the focus firmly on the interaction between the central figure and his followers. The artist's monogram, visible in the lower-left corner, identifies the work as a product of Pietersz.'s workshop, which was active in Amsterdam during the first half of the sixteenth century.

Such prints were often produced for devotional books or bibles, serving as visual aids for readers to contemplate biblical narratives. The style reflects the broader tradition of Northern European printmaking, where the influence of Dürer and other masters of the medium shaped the approach to line work and figure construction. The work remains a clear example of the functional yet expressive nature of religious art during the Reformation era, where the dissemination of printed images played a role in the communication of theological concepts to a wider audience.