The Coronation of the Virgin
1470–1491
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 1/4 in. × 6 in. (15.9 × 15.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Whittelsey Fund, 1946
Accession Number
46.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Coronation of the*, a masterful engraving by Martin Schongauer created between 1470 and 1491. This intimate print, measuring just 6¼ × 6 inches, captures a pivotal moment in Christian iconography: Christ crowning the Virgin Mary as of Heaven, surrounded by adoring angels. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, exemplifies the Northern Renaissance's blend of spiritual devotion and technical innovation. Schongauer, German artist from Colmar, was one of the first great masters of engraving, bridging late Gothic traditions with emerging Renaissance ...
About the Artist
Martin Schongauer · 1435–1491
Martin Schongauer, born around 1450–1453 in Colmar, Alsace, emerged from a family of skilled artisans. The third of four or five sons of goldsmith Caspar Schongauer, who had relocated from Augsburg to Colmar around 1440, Martin was immersed in the goldsmith's trade from youth, likely receiving his initial training in his father's workshop—a common path for early engravers. He further honed his ski...