Pentecost, from Old and New Testaments
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 5/8 × 5 7/8 in. (11.8 × 14.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1953
Accession Number
1975.508.4
Art Historical Context
Created in 1548 by the German artist Augustin Hirschvogel, this small etching captures the dramatic biblical scene of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles. As part of a series drawn from both the Old and New Testaments, the work reflects the era’s deep interest in religious storytelling through accessible printed images. Etching, the chosen medium, allowed artists like Hirschvogel to achieve fine lines and intricate details by using acid to bite into a metal plate. In the mid-16th century, such prints played a vital role in circulating sacred narratives across Europe, m...
About the Artist
Augustin Hirschvogel · 1503–1553
Augustin Hirschvogel (1503–1553) was born in Nuremberg into a prominent family of stained-glass painters who dominated the city's glass workshops during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The son of Veit Hirschvogel the Elder (1461–1525), Nuremberg's official glazier who executed designs after Albrecht Dürer and Hans von Kulmbach, Augustin trained as a glass painter in his father's workshop. ...