Saint Christopher
c. 1500
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet trimmed within platemark: 18.6 × 12.9 cm (7 3/8 × 5 1/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
21927
Art Historical Context
Step into the intricate world of early 16th-century German printmaking with *Saint Christopher*, an engraving by the enigmatic Master MZ, created around 1500. This masterful work depicts the legendary giant saint ferrying the Christ Child across a turbulent river on his shoulder—a popular motif symbolizing protection for travelers during the late Gothic and early Renaissance periods. Printed on luxurious ivory laid paper, the sheet measures a compact 18.6 × 12.9 cm, now housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings Department. Master MZ, an anonymous engraver active in southern...
About the Artist
Master MZ · 1477–1525
The artist known as Master MZ is one of the most accomplished and enigmatic printmakers of the German Renaissance, active around the turn of the sixteenth century. The designation derives from the monogram MZ with which the artist signed a small but technically extraordinary group of engravings, and despite sustained scholarly inquiry, the individual behind these initials has never been conclusive...