Patience

Art Historical Context

**Patience** (1552) is a captivating engraving by Heinrich Aldegrever, a masterful German artist of the Northern Renaissance known as one of the "Little Masters" for his exquisite small-scale prints. Born around 1502 in Soest, Aldegrever blended the meticulous line work of Albrecht Dürer with his own innovative flair, often crafting intricate designs on copper plates that captured allegorical, religious, and everyday themes. This print, housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection (Department CG-E), exemplifies his skill in producing affordable yet profound works that reached w...

About the Artist

Heinrich Aldegrever · 1502–1561

Heinrich Aldegrever, born in 1502 in Paderborn, Westphalia, to parents Herman and Katherine Trippenmeker—a family of clog-makers known by the dialect name Trippenmecker—emerged as a multifaceted artist in the German Renaissance. His early training remains undocumented, though he likely apprenticed in a Soest goldsmith's workshop after relocating there around 1525, where he joined the painters' gui...