Artwork Page for St. Christopher

Details / Information for St. Christopher

St. Christopher

1475–80

Martin Schongauer

(German, c. 1450–1491)
Culture
Germany
Medium
engraving
Measurements
Image: 16.1 x 11.2 cm (6 5/16 x 4 7/16 in.); Sheet: 16.1 x 11.2 cm (6 5/16 x 4 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1930.574
Catalogue raisonné
Lehrs V.252.56
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Prints depicting St. Christopher were believed to protect from the mala mors (dying suddenly without receiving the last rites), which was of particular concern to pilgrims and travelers.

Description

One of the most popular saints in the Late Middle Ages, Saint Christopher—whose name means "Christ-bearer"—was the patron saint of travelers and pilgrims. A legendary giant, Christopher wished to serve the most powerful king in the world. A hermit advised him to devote his life to Christ and to carry pilgrims and travelers on his back across a dangerous river, guided by the light of the hermit's lantern. Here, Schongauer depicts the story, focusing on the moment before the saint reaches the shore with the child on his back. According to legend, when the saint finally reached the far shore, he exclaimed that he felt he had carried the whole weight of the world on his back. Here, the cruciform rays of light around the child's head reveal him as Christ.
A vertically oriented print in black ink depicts Saint Christopher, a bearded man with wavy hair and rippling, heavily folded robes wading through water toward our right. He leans on a knotted staff. On his shoulders, a child with radiating lines of light holds a small orb. Shaded with fine hash marks, a hooded figure on a rocky shore holds a lantern. Reeds grow in the lower right, and a monogram marks the bottom.

St. Christopher

1475–80

Martin Schongauer

(German, c. 1450–1491)
Germany

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