Saint Sebastian
Medium
woodcut
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.908
Art Historical Context
In the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald, Hans Baldung Grien's *Saint Sebastian* (1514) stands as a masterful woodcut from the Northern Renaissance. Baldung, a gifted German artist and close associate of Albrecht Der, was renowned for his intricate prints that blended technical precision with dramatic emotional intensity. Working in Strasbourg, he elevated woodcuts—a relief printing method where images are carved into wood blocks and inked for multiple impressions—into high art, making sophisticated imagery accessible beyond elite patrons. This depiction of Saint Sebastian, the early Christ...
About the Artist
Hans Baldung Grien
Hans Baldung, known by the nickname Grien, was born around 1484 or 1485 in Schwäbisch Gmünd, in the Swabia region of what is now Germany. He came from a distinguished academic family — his father Johann Baldung was a university-educated jurist who served as legal adviser to the bishop of Strasbourg — making Hans a notable exception as the first male in his family not to attend university, and one ...