Saint Barbara, Seated Before her Tower
Medium
Etching, drypoint, and soft-ground etching
Dimensions
Image: 12 1/4 in. × 7 in. (31.1 × 17.8 cm) Sheet: 16 in. × 11 1/4 in. (40.6 × 28.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, PECO Foundation Gift, 2022
Accession Number
2022.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *Saint Barbara, Seated her Tower*, a captivating 1769 etching by Dutch artist Cornelis van Noorde, inspired by the meticulous style of Early Netherlandish master Jan van Eyck. Saint Barbara, a 4th-century Christian martyr, is iconically shown with her towering attribute—a symbol of the prison tower where her pagan father imprisoned her for her faith. Van Noorde's reproduction revives Eyck's Renaissance precision, blending reverence for medieval saints with 18th-century interest in historical art. Crafted using etching, drypoint, and innovative soft-ground etching, this print (image 12¼...
About the Artist
Cornelis van Noorde|Jan van Eyck · 1731–1795
Comment on works: Landscapes; Portraits; Engraver