The Large Einsiedeln Madonna
1466
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 20.6 × 12.2 cm (8 1/8 × 4 13/16 in.); Sheet: 20.9 × 12.5 cm (8 1/4 × 4 15/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
38098
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In 1466, the early anonymous master of engraving (known by the initials E. S.) was commissioned to make three engravings to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Papal Bull that granted absolution to pilgrims who worshipped at the statue of Madonna in the Benedictine Monastery at Einsiedeln near Zurich. This is the finest known impression of the largest of the three plates undertaken by the master E.S. and represents one of the earliest masterpieces of the art of engraving.
About the Artist
Master E.S. · 1450–1467
Master E.S. was a pioneering German engraver active in the middle decades of the fifteenth century, known only by the monogram with which he signed a number of his prints. His precise identity — name, birthplace, and biography — remains unknown, but his signed works, along with a larger group of prints attributed to him on stylistic grounds, place his activity primarily in the Upper Rhine region, ...