The Virgin and Child on a Grassy Bank
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 3/16 × 2 11/16 in. (10.7 × 6.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Henry Walters, 1917
Accession Number
17.37.164
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the serene engraving *The Virgin and Child on Grassy Bank* (1553), German artist Heinrich Aldegre captures a tender moment of divine motherhood amid a lush natural setting. Aldegrever, a master engraver from Soest and a key figure among the "Little Masters"—makers renowned for their exquisite small-scale works—presents the Madonna cradling the Christ Child on a verdant bank adorned with delicate flowers and leaves. This intimate devotional image, measuring just 4 3/16 × 2 11/16 inches, reflects the Northern Renaissance's blend of religious piety and naturalistic detail. Engraving, Aldegrev...
About the Artist
Heinrich Aldegrever · 1502–1561
Heinrich Aldegrever, born in 1502 in Paderborn, Westphalia, to parents Herman and Katherine Trippenmeker—a family of clog-makers known by the dialect name Trippenmecker—emerged as a multifaceted artist in the German Renaissance. His early training remains undocumented, though he likely apprenticed in a Soest goldsmith's workshop after relocating there around 1525, where he joined the painters' gui...