A Friar and a Soldier, from Das Bossenbüchlein
ca. 1582
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/8 × 3 3/8 in. (6.1 × 8.6 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1955
Accession Number
55.503.18(6)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created around 1582 by Matthias Beitler and Stephan Herman, *A Friar and a Soldier* is a small engraving from the German publication *Das Bossenbüchlein*. Measuring just over three inches wide, the print depicts a robed friar alongside a figure in armor, capturing two contrasting social types common in late Renaissance imagery. The work belongs to a category of ornamental and architectural prints, suggesting it may have served both as an illustration and a decorative design element. Engravings like this one played a vital role in 16th-century Europe by allowing detailed images to be reproduce...