Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well — Hand-Colored Woodcut, 1499

From: Ludolphus de Saxonia, “Dat boec vanden leven ons liefs Heeren Ihesu Christi” (Zwolle: Peter van Os, 1499)
Master of Jacob Bellaert, active c.1483–1486

This original hand-colored woodcut leaf depicts Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well, from the 1499 Dutch edition of Dat boec vanden leven ons liefs Heeren Ihesu Christi (“The Book of the Life of Our Beloved Lord Jesus Christ”), printed in Zwolle by Peter van Os.

The illustration — attributed to the Master of Jacob Bellaert, one of the most important early Netherlandish book illustrators — shows Christ gently addressing the Samaritan woman as she draws water from Jacob’s well. The vivid composition, with its finely detailed architecture and landscape, exemplifies the devotional clarity of late fifteenth-century woodcut design.

This is an incunable (a book printed before 1501), and this particular leaf corresponds to leaf CXV of the edition. The woodcut measures approximately 10 × 7.2 cm, printed and hand-colored in tempera within the text column. The verso features Gothic type in black ink with rubrication, typical of early Dutch typography from Zwolle’s flourishing presses.

The text is in Middle Dutch, reflecting the growing accessibility of devotional literature to lay readers in the Low Countries during the late 1400s.

Details
• Printer: Peter van Os
• Location: Zwolle, the Netherlands
• Date: 1499
• Illustrator: Master of Jacob Bellaert (active c.1483–1486)
• Work: Dat boec vanden leven ons liefs Heeren Ihesu Christi
• Language: Middle Dutch
• Technique: Hand-colored woodcut within printed text (Gothic type)
• Leaf size: approx. 28 × 19 cm
• Woodcut size: approx. 10 × 7.2 cm
• Condition: Excellent for age; minor toning and faint handling marks; colors bright and original

A rare and beautiful witness to early printing in the Netherlands, combining the artistry of hand illumination with the revolutionary technology of the printing press.