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Saint Eligius and King Dagobert

A work made of engraving in black on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of engraving in black on ivory laid paper.

Date:

1520/30

Artist:

Jean de Gourmont
French, 1506-1551

About this artwork

The son of a goldsmith, Gourmont drew on his family background for this roundel showing the patron saint of goldsmiths, Eligius, and the king he frequently advised. Eligius, his halo encircling his head, busily hammers out a golden disc on an anvil while his assistant mans the bellows. Dagobert, wearing a slender crown that Eligius may himself have wrought, gestures from the throne. The king was said to have valued the saint’s opinion over that of court nobles.

Eligius was a famous goldsmith to Clothar II and to his successor, Dagobert I, before becoming a priest. For this reason, he was to become the patron saint of goldsmiths, blacksmiths, and farriers. Although Eligius (or Eloi) was a saint from ancient times, his cult attained its widest popularity in the later Middle Ages.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Jean de Gourmont

Title

Saint Eligius and King Dagobert

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1520–1530

Medium

Engraving in black on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Sheet, cut to platemark: 8.1 × 8.1 cm (3 1/4 × 3 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.

Reference Number

1956.1060

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/4422/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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