Saint Christopher Carrying the Infant Christ
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 5/8 × 4 13/16 in. (16.8 × 12.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1932
Accession Number
32.90
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 16th century, Altdorfer, a master of the German Renaissance and a leading figure in the Danube School created this striking woodcut *Saint Christopher Carrying the Infant* in 1513. Depicting the legendary giant saint wading through a river with the Christ Child on his shoulder—a symbol of bearing the weight of the world—Altdorfer's captures a moment of divine humility and strength. Though small in scale (just 6 5/8 × 4 13/16 inches), it exemplifies his innovative fusion of intricate religious narrative with naturalistic landscapes, a hallmark of his style that brought the dramatic...
About the Artist
Albrecht Altdorfer · 1475–1538
Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480–1538) was a German painter, printmaker, and draftsman who stands as one of the founders of landscape painting as an independent genre. Born in Regensburg or nearby Altdorf, he learned art from his father Ulrich, a painter and miniaturist. Altdorfer spent most of his life in Regensburg, becoming a citizen in 1505 and later serving as the city's official architect and a m...