The Mass of Saint Gregory

c. 1480/1490

Israhel van Meckenem

Associated Names
Israhel van Meckenem

Artist, German, c. 1445 - 1503

This is a drawing of a religious scene set in an interior. The drawing shows a figure on a platform gesturing towards a kneeling person. The kneeling figure is engaged in prayer or contemplation, with a book and chalices in front of them. To the right, two figures are standing, one holding a decorative crown with religious symbols. The background features symbolic objects like ladders, instruments, and a rooster perched on a column, enhancing the spiritual atmosphere. The engraving's intricate detailing emphasizes the religious significance and intimate setting of the drawing.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.136

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lehrs, Vol. 9, p.283, no. 348, State ii/iv

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Albertina, Vienna (duplicate, Lugt 5g); (Charles Sessler, Philadelphia); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1929; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1967

  • Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., NGA, 1967-1968, no. 213, repro.

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. 213.

Inscriptions

lower left, in image, in plate: I.M. [artist's monogram]; in margin below image, in plate: Adoramus te Christe et benedicimus tibi (We adore thee, O Christ, and bless thee) [translation from Alan Shestack, "Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe." Exh. catalogue, Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1967, no. 213.]

Wikidata ID

Q64958384

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