Heilige Jakobus de Meerdere
1552
Medium
paper
Dimensions
119; 80
About this artwork
blad: hoogte 119 mm x breedte 80 mm
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate engraving *Heilige Jakobus de Meerdere* (Saint James the Greater), created by the prolific Nuremberg artist Virgilius Solis in1552. This intimate work on paper measures just 119 mm high by 80 mm wide, the revered apostle—patron saint of pilgrims and Spain—in a compact, devotional format typical of Renaissance printmaking. Solis, a master engraver influenced by Albrecht Dürer, flourished in 16th-century Germany amid the Protestant Reformation. His intricate line work and detailed figures made religious imagery accessible through affordable prints, which could be widely diss...
About the Artist
Virgilius Solis · 1514–1562
Virgil Solis the Elder (1514–1562), a cornerstone of Nuremberg's Renaissance printmaking scene, was born and died in that bustling center of the Holy Roman Empire. A member of a prolific family of artists, he established a thriving workshop by 1539, producing over 2,000 prints, drawings, etchings, engravings, and woodcuts—many signed with his distinctive monogram, though often executed by assistan...