Christ's journey to Golgotha through the streets of Jerusalem

Johann Daniel Herz st., View of Jerusalem with the Passion of Christ, c. 1735, etching with copper engraving, 819 x 1210 mm, Museum of Art Olomouc

Only recently, the collection of old prints of the Olomouc Museum of Art was enriched by an exceptional Baroque print by the Augsburg draughtsman, engraver and publisher Johann Daniel Herz the Elder (1693-1754) – View of Jerusalem with the Passion of Christ – from around 1735. It is the largest known print ever made in its time, printed from a single copperplate on a single sheet of handmade paper (81.9 x 121 cm). The work has undergone extensive restoration and will be presented to the public for the first time from 10 April 2025 in the Chapel of St. John the Baptist in Zdík Palace, which is part of the tour route of the Archdiocesan Museum Olomouc.

The bird’s-eye view of ancient Jerusalem contains a huge number of details, biblical buildings and places, filled with a crowd of people, among whom one can discern all the important episodes of Christ’s Passover story taking place simultaneously in one moment. From the late Middle Ages onwards, similar views or maps of the Holy City, viewed exclusively through a Christian lens, numerous pilgrimage reports, travelogues and souvenirs, were a popular form of pilgrimage guides, carried out virtually, i.e. in the minds of pilgrims who could not make the arduous and dangerous journey to the Holy Land, or who, on the contrary, wanted to recall the pilgrimage on their return. Some of these artefacts, on loan from state and church collections, will thematically complement the restored prints in the exhibition.

With the current exhibition project, the museum continues its long-term cycle of so-called restoration exhibitions, the aim of which is not only to present valuable works of art to the public, but also to present the process of their restoration. The exhibition will be accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue.

Translated by Deepl.com