The Blossoming of Aaron's Rod, from Old and New Testaments
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 13/16 × 5 7/8 in. (12.2 × 15 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.512.1
Art Historical Context
Created in 1550 by the German artist Augustin Hirschvogel, *The Blossoming of Aaron's Rod* captures a pivotal Old Testament moment from the Book of Numbers. In this scene, Aaron’s staff miraculously buds with flowers and almonds, affirming divine authority among the Israelites. Hirschvogel, active during the Reformation, specialized in small-scale etchings that brought biblical narratives to a wide audience through affordable prints. Etching, a relatively new medium in the mid-sixteenth century, allowed Hirschvogel to achieve delicate lines and subtle textures ideal for rendering the rod’s bl...
About the Artist
Augustin Hirschvogel · 1503–1553
Augustin Hirschvogel (1503–1553) was born in Nuremberg into a prominent family of stained-glass painters who dominated the city's glass workshops during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The son of Veit Hirschvogel the Elder (1461–1525), Nuremberg's official glazier who executed designs after Albrecht Dürer and Hans von Kulmbach, Augustin trained as a glass painter in his father's workshop. ...