About: Christ and the Sheep Shed

Christ and the Sheep Shed is a polemical woodcut made in 1524 by the Nuremberg artist Barthel Beham, one of the Little Masters. Created in the early part of the Protestant Reformation, this woodcut illustrates the beliefs of the artist, as well as other reformers, about the manipulation of the Catholic hierarchy. His work was influenced by reformers, such as Martin Luther, as well as other artists like Barthel's older brother, Sebald. This woodcut was created during the height of the peasant revolts and, though they were less severe in Nuremberg than in other parts of Germany, the social implications were greatly felt. Though there is little information on this particular woodcut, it represents much of the political and social aspects of the Reformation, and interpretation provides insight