Saint Paul holding a sword and book, from "Christ and the Apostles"
ca. 1548–50
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 8 1/4 x 4 5/16 in. (21 x 11 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
Accession Number
26.70.3(165)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *Saint Paul holding a sword book*, a striking etching by Andrea Schiavone (Andrea Meld), created around 1548–50 as part of his series *Christ and the Apostles*. intimate print, measuring just 8¼ x 4⅜ inches, captures the apostle in dynamic pose, clutching a sword—symbolizing his martyrdom—and an open book representing his Epistles. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, entered the collection via the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1926. Schiavone, a Venetian Mannerist artist influenced by Titian and Parmigianino, excelled in printmaking during the Rena...
About the Artist
Andrea Schiavone (Andrea Meldola) · 1510–1563
Andrea Schiavone, born Andrea Meldolla around 1510 or 1515 in Zara (modern Zadar, Croatia), in Venetian-ruled Dalmatia, hailed from a family rooted in Meldola near Forlì in Romagna, Emilia-Romagna. His father, Simon Meldolla, served as a garrison commander there, and both parents originated from Meldola, where the family held property into the early 16th century. Nicknamed "Schiavone"—"the Slav"—a...