St. Andrew
ca. 1556–60 (?)
Medium
Etching with occasional drypoint accents
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1927
Accession Number
27.78.2(217)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *St. Andrew*, a striking etching by the Venetian artist Andrea Schiavone (Andrea Meldola), created around 1556–60. Schiavone, a key figure in 16th-century Venice, blended the robust energy of Titian with the elegant distortions of Mannerism, producing dynamic prints that captured religious fervor. This work depicts the apostle saint, traditionally shown with his iconic X-shaped cross, embodying themes of martyrdom and faith central to Counter-Reformation art. The medium—etching with subtle drypoint accents—highlights Schiavone's innovative technique. Etching, relatively new in Italy du...
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...