About this artwork
Israhel van Meckenem produced many densely engraved ornament prints in which tendrils overflow with wild men and women roaming the forests. The present engraving, however, depicts a sacred subject—the symbolic Tree of Jesse (the father of King David). Jesse sleeps on the central mound, but a dreamlike vision of his progeny extends upward beyond David to Christ and his mother. This visual genealogy was used to prove Christ’s royal lineage and was also one of the earliest interpretations of a “family tree.”
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Israhel van Meckenem, the younger
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Title
- Ornament with the Tree of Jesse
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Place
- Germany (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- Made 1480–1490
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Medium
- Engraving on paper
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Dimensions
- 12.1 × 26.8 cm (4 13/16 × 10 9/16 in.)
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Credit Line
- Clarence Buckingham Collection
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Reference Number
- 1938.123
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/27009/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.
