Saint Andrew kneeling in prayer as he is led to the cross, after Reni
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 11 7/8 × 17 1/4 in. (30.1 × 43.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.3427
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking etching, titled *Saint Andrew Kneeling Prayer as He Is Led to the Cross, Reni*, captures a poignant moment from the life of the apostle Saint Andrew, one of Christ's first followers. Created between 1650 and 1680 by engravers Carlo Cesi and van Westerhout after a composition by the renowned Baroque master Guido Reni, it depicts the saint in humble devotion, surrounded by soldiers escorting him to his martyrdom on the X-shaped cross. The evokes the drama and piety central to 17th-century religious art, blending spiritual intensity with human vulnerability. Etching, the printmakin...
About the Artist
Guido Reni|Carlo Cesi|Arnold van Westerhout · 1575–1642
Guido Reni (1575–1642) was one of the most celebrated Italian painters of the Baroque era and the dominant figure of the Bolognese School. Born into a family of musicians in Bologna, he trained first with Denys Calvaert before joining the influential Accademia degli Incamminati led by Ludovico Carracci. Reni achieved international fame through his idealizing style that combined Baroque dynamism wi...