Saint Bernard of Clairvaux with the Instruments of the Passion

Art Historical Context

Created around 1625 by Flemish artist Pieter de Jode, this drawing portrays Saint of Clairvaux, the influential 12th-century Cistercian abbot and Doctor of the Church, alongside the Instruments of the Passion. These symbolic objects—such as the cross, crown of thorns, and nailsevoke Christ’s suffering and were popular in Counter-Reformation devotional art, encouraging personal meditation on the crucifixion. De Jode, known for his skilled engravings and reproductive prints after leading masters, brings a refined sensibility to this religious subject. The work’s medium—pen and brown ink with gray and brown wash over black chalk on laid paper—reveals careful preparation. Visible incised lines indicate the sheet was transferred to a copper plate, suggesting it served as a design for a print intended for wider circulation. At roughly 31.6 by 20.3 centimeters, the drawing’s intimate scale suits both private study and the meticulous process of engraving. Housed in the National Gallery of Art as part of the Joseph F. McCrindle Collection, the sheet exemplifies early seventeenth-century Flemish draftsmanship and the enduring appeal of Bernard’s mystical spirituality in Baroque visual culture.