Saint Christopher [recto]

c. 1450/1470

French 15th Century

Associated Names
French 15th Century

Artist

The image depicts a saint carrying a child across a river in a medieval architectural setting. The scene shows a figure walking through water with a child on their shoulder. The figure's robe has intricate patterns in red hues. On the left, there is a medieval town or church structure with a figure reaching out. The artwork features strong black outlines and minimal color, resembling early woodcut prints or religious iconographies. The style is reminiscent of an early Renaissance artist with medieval aesthetics.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut, hand-colored in brown and yellow on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (irregular fragment): 14.1 x 9.9 cm (5 9/16 x 3 7/8 in.)
    overall (external frame dimensions): 31.8 x 25.4 cm (12 1/2 x 10 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.840.a

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Schreiber, Vol. IX, no. 1371, State m

Associated Artworks

This is a drawing of a partially visible architectural element with a hand and a chalice. The image consists of a fragmented piece of paper with ink sketches primarily on its right side. A hand is depicted extending from the right edge of the image, holding a chalice with a distinct base. Above this, there are architectural-like shapes. The overall style appears delicate and aged, with the paper showing signs of wear, such as tears and stains. Intricate line work adds detail to both the architectural elements and the chalice.

Christ on a Goldsmith's Cross

French 15th Century

1450

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Martin Aufhäuser [1875-1944], Munich, Holland, and Los Angeles; [1] Lessing J. Rosenwald, Jenkintown, PA; gift to NGA, 1943.
[1] For more information on Aufhäuser's collection, see Gallery Archives, National Gallery of Art, Rosenwald Papers, Box 9; Lessing J. Rosenwald, Recollections of a Collector, Jenkintown, Pa, 1976, pp. 14-18, and Richard S. Field, Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts, Washington, D.C., 1965, Preface (np).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1965

  • Fifteenth-Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, NGA, 1965-1966, no. 217, repro.

2005

  • Origins of European Printmaking: Fifteenth-Century Woodcuts and Their Public, NGA and Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, 2005-2006, no. 14, repro.

Bibliography

1926

  • Schreiber, Wilhelm Ludwig. Handbuch de Holz- und Metailschnitte des XV Jahrhunderts. 8 vols. Leipzig: Verlag Karl W. Hierseman, 1926-1930.

1965

  • Field, Richard S. Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Exh. cat. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1965.

Watermarks

none

Wikidata ID

Q64953476

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