The Savior and the Virgin
1551 to 1600
Medium
etching on laid paper
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.5636
Art Historical Context
This etching, created between 1551 and 1600 by Simon Frisius after an original design by Lucas van Leyden, captures a tender devotional moment between Christ and the Virgin Mary. Lucas van Leyden, a leading Northern Renaissance artist active in the early 1500s, was renowned for his innovative printmaking that brought religious subjects to wider audiences across Europe. Frisius, working decades later, translated this composition into etching, preserving its intimate spiritual quality for new generations. The choice of etching on laid paper highlights the medium’s growing importance in the late...