Christ Among the Doctors
1490–1500
Medium
Engraving on paper
Dimensions
Image: 26 × 18.4 cm (10 1/4 × 7 1/4 in.); Sheet trimmed within platemark: 26.6 × 18.4 cm (10 1/2 × 7 1/4 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
3717
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Israhel van Meckenem depicted the 12-year old Christ’s spirited discussions with learned doctors and priests in the temple at Jerusalem. In three short days, Christ assimilated and surpassed their knowledge of scripture, and in this print he lectures his rapt audience from a book on the podium beside his magisterial throne. The construction of the throne is similar to the heavenly one in Martin Schongauer’s Christ Blessing the Virgin (1956.864).
About the Artist
Israhel van Meckenem, the younger
Israhel van Meckenem the Younger (c. 1440–1503) was a German goldsmith and engraver who became one of the most prolific printmakers of the fifteenth century. Born in Meckenheim near Bonn, he was trained by his father, Israhel van Meckenem the Elder, who was himself a goldsmith and engraver. The younger Israhel may also have worked in the workshop of the Master E.S., whose plates he later reworked ...