Christ at the Feast of Simon
c. 1590-1600
Medium
Engraving on three joined sheets of ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 42.1 × 87.8 cm (16 5/8 × 34 5/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
268828
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Jan Saenredam’s “Christ at the Feast of Simon,” created around 1590–1600, captures a pivotal New Testament moment in which a woman anoints Jesus during a meal at the house of Simon the Pharisee. Executed as a large engraving on three joined sheets of ivory laid paper, the print measures over three feet wide, giving it the presence of a small mural while remaining accessible through the reproducible nature of the medium. In the late sixteenth century, engraving served as a vital bridge between elite painted commissions and a broader public hungry for religious imagery. Saenredam’s meticulous l...
About the Artist
Jan Saenredam · 1565–1607
Jan Pieterszoon Saenredam (c. 1565–1607) emerged from humble beginnings in the Dutch village of Assendelft, where he was orphaned young and raised by his uncle, the local bailiff Pieter de Jongh. Initially destined for basket weaving or farm work, Saenredam's precocious talent for embellishing texts with intricate designs caught attention, leading to an apprenticeship in cartography. By 1589, at a...