St. Peter from Christ and the Apostles
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 1/4 in. × 5 in. (20.9 × 12.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1924
Accession Number
24.28.11
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *St. Peter from Christ and the Apostles*, a 1519 woodcut by Hans Baldungrien, a leading German artist of the Northern Renaissance and close associate of Albrecht Dür. Created during the early Reformation era in Strasbourg, this intimate print (just 8¼ × 5 inches) captures the Apostle Peter holding the keys to heaven, symbolizing his pivotal role the first pope and guardian of Christian doctrine. Part of a series depicting Christ and the Apostles, reflects the era's fervor for religious imagery amid theological upheaval. Baldung's woodcut technique shines here: he carved intricate detai...
About the Artist
Hans Baldung (called Hans Baldung Grien) · 1484–1545
Hans Baldung Grien (1484/85–1545), born in Schwäbisch Gmünd into an erudite family of jurists and physicians, forsook academia to pursue art. His early training around 1500 took place in the Upper Rhineland, likely Strasbourg, before he apprenticed under Albrecht Dürer in Nuremberg from 1503 to 1507. There, the young artist honed his skills in painting, printmaking, and stained glass, even managin...