Face of Christ on St. Veronica's Cloth
1649
Medium
Engraving; second state of two
Dimensions
plate: 16 15/16 x 12 3/8 in. (43 x 31.5 cm) sheet: 18 1/8 x 13 11/16 in. (46 x 34.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1969
Accession Number
69.581.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
Claude Mellan's *Face of Christ on St Veronica's Cloth* (9) is a masterful engraving capturing the revered Christian relic known as the Veil of Veronica believed to bear the miraculous imprint of Christ's face after a woman wiped his brow during the Passion. Created in the Baroque era, this second-state impression showcases Mellan's extraordinary skill as a French engraver, blending religious devotion with technical innovation. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, measures an imposing plate size of 16 15/16 x 12 3/8 inches, inviting viewers to contemplate ...
About the Artist
Claude Mellan · 1598–1688
Claude Mellan (1598-1688) was a French draughtsman, engraver, and painter who became one of the most innovative printmakers of the French Baroque period. Born in Abbeville to a family of coppersmiths, Mellan rose to become Peintre et Graveur Ordinaire du Roi (Painter and Engraver in Ordinary to the King), achieving recognition for his extraordinary technical mastery. Mellan's artistic significanc...