Saint Bonaventure Arriving and Preaching in Lyon

1480-1490

French 15th Century

Associated Names
This is a drawing of a religious scene with multiple figures and iconography. The image is divided into sections, with the upper part featuring a circular mandorla containing central figures surrounded by an aureole of red and blue flames or rays. The figures within the mandorla are seated in a throne-like setting with adjoining banners, accompanied by celestial beings on either side and symbolic animals at the corners, including a winged lion. The central section of the drawing includes a prominent emblem with the letters "IHS" surrounded by angelic figures and decorative scrollwork. Below, the scene depicts an outdoor setting amidst architecture resembling a historic cityscape, with spired buildings and hilly landscapes in the background. A variety of figures, some seated and some standing, are depicted, potentially partaking in learning or devotional activities, possibly guided by a figure representing a scholarly or monastic presence. The elements throughout are intricately detailed, connected by ornamental borders in a palette of predominantly red and muted blue tones.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut, hand-colored in vermilion, orange-rose, light and dark gray-blue, and lavender

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (irreg.): 36.5 × 26.7 cm (14 3/8 × 10 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.860

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Schreiber, Vol. IX, no. 1282, State x


Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1955

  • French Woodcuts, Engravings and Books of the 15th and Early 16th Centuries, The Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, 1955.

1965

  • Fifteenth-Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, NGA, 1965-1966, no. 208, 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.

Wikidata ID

Q64953502

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