The Virgin and Child Seated on a Grassy Bank

Art Historical Context

Heinrich Aldegrever's *The Virgin and Childated on a Grassy* (1553) is a delicate engraving on ivory laid paper, measuring 10.7 × 6.8 cm—perfectly sized for personal devotion or a collector's album. As one of the "Little Masters," a group of 16th-century German engravers for their intricate work on a miniature scale, Aldegre showcases his mastery in this intimate scene. The Virgin Mary cradles the Christ Child on a lush grassy bank, evoking tenderness and serenity amid the religious fervor of the Reformation era. Created in the Northern Renaissance tradition, this print draws on the era's emp...

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...