Saint Christopher

Prints and Drawings

1665/77

Wallerant Vaillant (Dutch, 1623-1677)
after Cornelis van Poelenburch (Dutch, 1594/95-1667)
after Adam Elsheimer (German, 1578-1610)

In this print, Wallerand Vaillant articulates landscape, figure, and atmosphere with the perfect subtlety of light. Mezzotint was a relatively new intaglio process in which the artist burnished out highlights and gradations, effectively erasing the darkness, from a completely roughened copper plate that would print black if left untouched. In the final state the artist added stars, as well as more definition to the clouds and landscape, and intensified the highlights of the figures and their respective objects (the staff of the Saint, and the world held by the Christ-child). The result is a tonally richer composition.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Wallerand Vaillant
Title: Saint Christopher
Place: Netherlands (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.: 1665–1677
Medium: Mezzotint in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions: Image/plate: 16.9 × 21.9 cm (6 11/16 × 8 5/8 in.); Sheet: 17.6 × 22.7 cm (6 15/16 × 8 15/16 in.)
Credit Line: The Joseph Brooks Fair Collection
Reference Number: 1967.34a
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/191342/manifest.json

Hollstein Vol. XXXI, 36 proof before I/II

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