Saint Sebastian, Saint Anthony, and Saint Roch
1550/55
Medium
Engraving in black on buff laid paper
Dimensions
24.9 × 16.5 cm (9 13/16 × 6 1/2 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
40345
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
There are few impressions of this rare, unfinished engraving by Jean Duvet, a metalworker in Dijon and Langres who served as royal goldsmith to both François I and Henri II. The artist likely made this depiction of the three patron saints of the plague to offer hope during a pandemic sweeping eastern France. In the center forefront Saint Sebastian, usually portrayed with multiple lacerations from arrows, is shown without visible wounds. Saint Roch, on the right with the dog that rescued him offe...
About the Artist
Jean Duvet · 1485–1570
Jean Duvet (1485–after 1562), a pioneering French goldsmith and engraver from the provincial heartlands of Dijon and Langres, emerged as the first significant printmaker in France. Born to a Dijon goldsmith, he trained in the family trade and rose swiftly, becoming master of the Dijon Goldsmiths' Guild by 1509. Duvet's early career blended goldsmithing with engraving; no specific teachers are docu...