De heilige Jakobus de Meerdere

About this artwork

De heilige Jakobus de Meerdere met pelgrimsstaf en boek. Op de achtergrond links wordt Jakobus onthoofd door een soldaat met een zwaard. Op de achtergrond rechts loopt Jakobus door een landschap.

Art Historical Context

**De heilige Jakobus Meerdere** is a striking etching by Italian artist Antonio Tempesta (1555–1630), a master of the late Mannerist and early Baroque periods renowned for his dynamic prints depicting religious narratives, hunts, and landscapes. Created during Tempesta's prolific career in Rome, this large-scale work (520 × 376 mm) captures James the Greater, one of Jesus's apostles and the patron saint of pilgrims and Spain. He is depicted frontally holding his iconic pilgrim's staff—symbolizing his legendary journeys—and a book, evoking his role as a preacher. The composition masterfully bl...

About the Artist

Antonio Tempesta · 1555–1630

Antonio Tempesta (1555–1630), known as 'Il Tempestino,' was a Florentine painter and printmaker whose extraordinary output of approximately 1,700 etchings made him one of the most influential printmakers of the early Baroque period. Born in Florence and trained under Santi di Tito and the Flemish master Joannes Stradanus, he enrolled in the Accademia del Disegno in 1576 before relocating to Rome i...