Saint Andrew Seated on His Cross
Medium
Chiarosucuro woodcut from four blocks on cream laid paper
Dimensions
21.1 × 13.5 cm (8 5/16 × 5 3/8 in.)
Classification
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
205099
Art Historical Context
In the Art Institute of’s collection of prints and drawings, “Saint Andrew Seated on His Cross” offers a quiet yet powerful of the apostle traditionally linked with the X-shaped cross of his martyrdom. Created in 1724 by the Venetian nobleman and printmaker Conte Antonio Maria Zanetti the Elder, the work captures the saint in a moment of calm reflection, his figure carefully balanced against the diagonal form of the cross. Zanetti produced this image as a chiaroscuro woodcut printed from four separate blocks on cream laid paper. The technique, which layers tones to suggest light and shadow, g...