Saint Nicholas of Bari and the Three Poor Girls

Art Historical Context

This 1587 engraving illustrates the well-known legend of Saint Nicholas secretly providing dowries for three impoverished girls, saving them from a life of hardship. Created during the late Renaissance, when religious prints flourished amid the Counter-Reformation’s emphasis on saints as models of charity, the scene would have resonated deeply with viewers seeking inspiration from acts of compassion and divine intervention. The work reflects the collaborative nature of print production at the time, with Jan van der Straet (called Stradanus) likely providing the design, Cornelis Cort contributing his masterful engraving technique, and publishers such as Claudio Duchetti overseeing its distribution. Engravings were especially significant in this era for their ability to reproduce detailed images in multiples, making devotional art widely available beyond church walls and noble collections. Housed today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, this sheet exemplifies how such prints bridged artistic innovation with everyday spiritual life in sixteenth-century Europe.

About the Artist

Cristofano Cartaro|Jan van der Straet, called Stradanus|Claudio Duchetti|Cornelis Cort|Giulio Roschi Hortini (Italian|Netherlandish|Italian|Netherlandish|Italian) · 1577 |1523 |1565 |1533 |1550 –1587 |1605 |1585 |1578 |1600

Italian, active Rome, 1577–87|Netherlandish, Bruges 1523–1605 Florence|Italian, active Venice and Rome, ca. 1565–died ca. 1585|Netherlandish, Hoorn ca. 1533–1578 Rome|Italian, active late 16th century