Sudarium Held by Two Angels
1513
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 15/16 × 5 7/16 in. (10 × 13.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Henry Walters, 1917
Accession Number
17.37.112
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the hallowed tradition of Northern Renaissance devotion, Albrecht Dürer's *Sudarium Held by Two Angels* (1513) captures a poignant moment of Christian iconography. The engraving depicts the Veil of Veronica—or sudarium—bearing the miraculous imprint of Christ's face, gently held aloft by two adoring angels. This sacred cloth, legendarily used to wipe Jesus' brow during his Passion, symbolizes divine revelation and empathy, inviting viewers to contemplate the humanity and suffering of Christ. Dürer, a master of the German Renaissance and pioneer of printmaking, created this intimate work (j...
About the Artist
Albrecht Dürer · 1471–1528
Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) stands as the preeminent figure of the Northern Renaissance and arguably the most influential artist in the history of printmaking. Born in Nuremberg on May 21, 1471, and dying in the same city on April 6, 1528, Dürer revolutionized the status of the artist in Northern Europe, transforming printmaking from a commercial craft into an independent fine art and establishing ...