Christ Washing the Feet of the Apostles

c. 1480

Israhel van Meckenem

Associated Names
Israhel van Meckenem

Artist, German, c. 1445 - 1503

The image shows several figures in different panels. In the central scene, two figures are kneeling, one holding a cloth and the other's foot, with a basin and pitcher nearby. They are dressed in robes, with detailed facial features and curly hair. In the background, a group of people in robes is gathered around a table in a small room. On the left, other figures are engaged in various activities in ascending scenes. The upper left corner shows a barren landscape with figures near a walled area. The entire scene is enclosed by an architectural frame with arches and pillars.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 21.3 x 15 cm (8 3/8 x 5 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1952.8.264

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lehrs, Vol. 9, p.150, no. 142, State i/vi

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Geelhand Collection, Antwerp; D'Arenberg Collection, Brussels and Westphalila (Lugt 567); (William Schab, New York); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1952; gift to NGA, 1952.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1956

  • The Life of Christ in Prints, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1956-1957, no cat.

1957

  • The Life of Christ in Prints, 14 venue touring exhibition organized by the American Federation of Arts (J.B. Speed Museum, Louisville, KY; Grand Rapids Art Gallery, MI; Time, Inc., New York, NY; Washington County Museum, Hagerstown, MD; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO; Newcomb College, New Orleans, LA; Wells College, Aurora, NY; Mississippi Art Association, Jackson, MS; Calgary Allied Arts Centre, Alberta, Canada; Edmonton Art Gallery, Alberta, Canada; Sackville Art Association, New Brunswick, Canada; and Winnipeg Art Gallery, Manitoba, Canada), 1957-1960, no cat.

1967

  • Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., NGA, 1967-1968, no. 183, repro.

1999

  • Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2000.

2023

  • Art of Enterprise: Israhel van Meckenem and his Late Medieval Print Shop, Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2023-2024.

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, 1934: Vol. 9, no. 142, i/vi.

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. German engravings, etchings and woodcuts ca. 1400-1700. Blaricum: A.L. van Gendt B.V., 1986: Vol. XXIV, no. 142, i/vii.

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. 183.

Inscriptions

lower center, in plate: I.M. [artist's monogram]; verso, in graphite, by a later hand, lower left: B.10; in graphite, by a later hand, lower left: 2 Geel.

Markings

none

Watermarks

Gothic Y with cross (close to Lehrs 43)

Wikidata ID

Q65358428

You may be interested in

Loading Results