St. James Minor, from Christ, the Twelve Apostles and St. Paul
1525–76
Medium
Engraving; second state
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.95.87
Art Historical Context
Lambert Suavius created this engraving of St. James Minor as part of a larger series titled *Christ, the Twelve and St. Paul*. between 1525 and 1576, the work exemplifies the Northern Renaissance interest in detailed religious imagery intended for both devotional and educational use. As an engraving, it belongs to a medium prized for its ability to reproduce fine lines and textures, allowing such images to circulate widely among collectors and worshippers across Europe. The second state of the print indicates that Suavius revisited the plate to refine details, a common practice that reveals t...
About the Artist
Lambert Suavius · 1510–1576
Lambert Suavius (c.1510–c.1574/76), whose Flemish family name was Zutman, was born in Liège, in the southern Netherlands. He was the son of an episcopal goldsmith, Henri Zutman, and from his father's craft environment he inherited a training in the precise handling of metal and an appreciation for fine detail work. He became closely associated with his brother-in-law Lambert Lombard, the leading a...