Epistles: A Thousand Words: Maccabees

The Book of 1 Maccabees records the Maccabean revolt—of Hanukkah fame—and the resultant Jewish kingdom. A Jewish priest Mattathias and his five sons led the revolt against Greek rule in the second century BCE. Here, Mattathias is shown surrounded by supporters and refugees who had fled to the hills (1 Maccabees 2).

This wood engraving by Gustave Doré was published, along with 240 other biblical illustrations, in La Grande Bible de Tours in 1866. His intricate design would have been carved into a block of wood using a burin. Then the block would have been covered in ink and pressed against paper to create the illustration. Engraved blocks could be used on printing presses, which allowed for easy duplication. Although not the developer of the technique, Doré is probably the most famous wood engraver.