Artwork Page for St. Martin

Details / Information for St. Martin

St. Martin

1485–90

Martin Schongauer

(German, c. 1450–1491)
Culture
Germany
Medium
engraving
Credit Line
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1924.509
Catalogue raisonné
Lehrs V.271.62
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Saint Martin was often represented as a knight on a horse; here, Schongauer alluded to the steed by placing a pair of spurs on Martin's boots.

Description

Martin Schongauer was among the first artists to work extensively in engraving to create series such as the one depicting the saints. Here, Schongauer portrayed Saint Martin as a handsome youth with curly hair, in the midst of dividing his fur-lined cloak to share with a beggar seated at his feet. According to the legend on the life of Saint Martin, after sharing his cloak with the man, Martin later discovered in a dream that he had actually shared his mantle with Christ. Soon after, Martin was baptized and became the Bishop of Tours.
A vertically oriented black-and-white engraving depicts a man in a leaf crown and fur-trimmed cloak standing in the center, looking toward our right. Holding a sword, he cuts the fabric held aloft by his left hand. Below him on our right, a thin man with visible ribs kneels and reaches upward toward the cloak. Fine hatching lines shade the figures against the plain background. A monogram sits at the bottom center.

St. Martin

1485–90

Martin Schongauer

(German, c. 1450–1491)
Germany

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