St. Claire
1667
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 17 5/16 x 11 5/16 in. (44 x 28.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.601.260
Tags
Art Historical Context
Claude Mellan's *St. Claire* (1667) is a masterful engraving capturing the revered 13th-century saint Clare of Assisi in a moment of fervent prayer. Saint Clare, a devoted follower of St. Francis and of the Order of Poor Ladies (Poor Clares), embodies humility and spiritual devotion—qualities vividly evoked here through her serene, kneeling pose. Created during the Baroque era, this print reflects the period's emphasis on emotional religious imagery, designed to inspire piety among 17th-century European viewers. Mellan, a leading French engraver active in Rome and Paris, was celebrated for hi...
About the Artist
Claude Mellan · 1598–1688
Claude Mellan (1598-1688) was a French draughtsman, engraver, and painter who became one of the most innovative printmakers of the French Baroque period. Born in Abbeville to a family of coppersmiths, Mellan rose to become Peintre et Graveur Ordinaire du Roi (Painter and Engraver in Ordinary to the King), achieving recognition for his extraordinary technical mastery. Mellan's artistic significanc...