Saint Christopher Facing Right
1521
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 11/16 × 2 15/16 in. (11.9 × 7.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The George Khuner Collection, Gift of Mrs. George Khuner, 1968
Accession Number
68.793.48
Tags
Art Historical Context
Albrecht Dürer's *Saint Christopher Facing Right*1521) is a masterful engraving from the final years of the artist's illustrious career. As a cornerstone of the Northern Renaissance,ürer revolutionized printmaking, bridging the gap between painting and reproducible art. This small yet powerful work captures the legendary patron saint of travelers—depicted as a towering figure wading through turbulent waters while carrying the infant Christ on his shoulder—a motif rooted in medieval Christian devotion and folklore. Rendered in intricate engraving, a technique Dürer perfected using a burin to i...
About the Artist
Albrecht Dürer · 1471–1528
Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) stands as the preeminent figure of the Northern Renaissance and arguably the most influential artist in the history of printmaking. Born in Nuremberg on May 21, 1471, and dying in the same city on April 6, 1528, Dürer revolutionized the status of the artist in Northern Europe, transforming printmaking from a commercial craft into an independent fine art and establishing ...