The Baptism of Christ

c. 1480/1490

Martin Schongauer

Associated Names
Martin Schongauer

Artist, German, c. 1450 - 1491

This is a drawing of a scene featuring a kneeling figure in a robe, another figure with wings, and a celestial figure overhead. The central figure stands in a body of water, draped in cloth, receiving a blessing gesture from another figure standing on a rocky bank. An angelic figure is also present, holding a cloth, with a serene expression. Above them, in the clouds, is a divine being observing the scene. The background shows a landscape with water and rolling hills. The drawing is intricate, with detailed line work and hatching.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 15.8 x 15.8 cm (6 1/4 x 6 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.32

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hollstein, no. 8, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Count Giuseppe Archinto [1783-1861], Milan; Count Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg [1805-1865], Klein-Oels, Silésie (Lugt 2669); (sale 176, C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, 2 May 1932, no. 81); (Charles Sessler, Philadelphia); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1939; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1953

  • Nuremberg and the German World, 1460-1530: Prints and books from the Kress and Rosenwald Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1953, no catalogue.

1955

  • Miniatures and Prints from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1955, no catalogue.

1967

  • Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., NGA, 1967-1968, no. 76, repro.

1968

  • Good and Bad Angels, University of Notre Dame Art Gallery, IN, 1968, no catalogue.

Bibliography

1908

  • Lehrs, Max. Geschichte und kritischer Katalog des deutschen, niederlandischen und franzosischen Kupferstichs im XV. Jahrhundert. 9 vols. and 1 plate vol. Vienna: Gesellschaft fur vervielfaltigende Kunst, 1908-1934.

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. German engravings, etchings and woodcuts ca. 1400-1700. 8 vols. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, 1954-1868. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. Vols. I-XV, XVIII, XIX. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberge

1967

  • Shestack, Alan. Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Exh. cat. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1967: no. 76.

Watermarks

bull's head with Saint Anthony's cross

Wikidata ID

Q64960211

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