A hand-coloured woodcut by Dutch printer Doen Pietersz., depicting the Carrying of the Cross in the graphic style of the Northern Renaissance.

This hand-coloured woodcut depicts the biblical scene of the Carrying of the Cross. Doen Pietersz., a Dutch printer and publisher active in Amsterdam during the early sixteenth century, produced works that reflect the visual language of the Northern Renaissance. The composition focuses on Christ, who is shown kneeling under the weight of the cross, surrounded by a dense crowd of figures. The artist employs a direct, graphic style typical of woodblock printing from this period, where bold outlines define the forms before the application of colour.

The scene is crowded, with soldiers and onlookers pressing in on the central figure. The perspective is compressed, creating a sense of urgency and claustrophobia. The use of colour, applied by hand after the initial printing, adds a layer of visual interest to the stark black lines of the woodcut. The palette includes muted tones of red, green, and ochre, which were common in printed books of the era. The figure of Christ is rendered with a focus on his physical burden, while the surrounding figures display a variety of expressions and postures, contributing to the narrative intensity of the work.

As a product of the early printing press in the Netherlands, this work demonstrates the role of woodcuts in disseminating religious imagery to a wider audience. The print is characteristic of the illustrative techniques used in devotional books, where images were intended to aid contemplation of the Passion. The physical presence of the paper, with its visible texture and the remnants of the binding, provides a sense of the object's history as part of a larger volume. This print offers a glimpse into the aesthetic and technical practices of Dutch book production in the first half of the sixteenth century.