St. Matthew, from Christ, the Twelve Apostles and St. Paul
1525–76
Medium
Engraving
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.95.97
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Lambert Suavius’s engraving of St. Matthew belongs to a larger series portraying Christ, the Twelve Apostles, and St. Paul, created during the artist’s lifetime between 1525 and 1576. Working in the Low Countries, Suavius helped bring the refined techniques of Italian Renaissance printmaking to Northern Europe. His precise line work captures the evangelist in a moment of quiet contemplation, emphasizing both his human presence and spiritual authority. Engravings like this one played a vital role in the sixteenth century by making religious imagery widely accessible beyond church walls. Collec...
About the Artist
Lambert Suavius · 1510–1576
Lambert Suavius (c.1510–c.1574/76), whose Flemish family name was Zutman, was born in Liège, in the southern Netherlands. He was the son of an episcopal goldsmith, Henri Zutman, and from his father's craft environment he inherited a training in the precise handling of metal and an appreciation for fine detail work. He became closely associated with his brother-in-law Lambert Lombard, the leading a...