Saint Christopher

c. 1515/1520

Albrecht Altdorfer

Associated Names
Albrecht Altdorfer

Artist, German, 1480 or before - 1538

The image shows two figures, one large and one small. The larger figure is carrying the smaller figure on his shoulder. The larger figure has a muscular build, a long beard and hair, and wears a simple garment tied at the waist with rolled-up sleeves. He holds onto a tree trunk for support as he wades through water. The smaller figure, sitting atop the larger figure's shoulder, has curly hair and raises one hand with a gentle gesture. The smaller figure wears a flowing robe. There are no visible pieces of jewelry on the figures. The background includes a village, a church, trees, hills, and a sky with rays emanating from a central sun.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 6.5 x 5.9 cm (2 9/16 x 2 5/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1983.10.1

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. e. 20, State only


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Yorck von Wartenburg [1805-1865], Klein Öls, Silesia (Lugt 2669). Félix Somary [1881-1956], Zurich (Lugt 4384). (Artemis Fine Arts, London); purchased by NGA, 1983.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1986

  • Graphic Survey Show, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., February 1986.

Bibliography

1963

  • Winzinger, Franz. Albrecht Altdorfer, Graphik: Holzschnitte, Kupferstiche, Radierungen. Munich: R.Piper and Co., 1963, no. 124, d.

1996

  • The New Hollstein German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, 1400-1700. (Albrecht Aldorfer, Ursula Mielke, author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. e. 20, state only.

Inscriptions

upper center in plate: A; on verso in graphite: [S?] Christophe / B.79

Wikidata ID

Q74039225

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