Art Institute of Chicago

The Arrival in France of Saint Francis of Paola

Artist unknown

Date

c. 1495

Medium

Woodcut in gray, hand-colored with brush, stencil and watercolor on ivory laid paper

Culture

France

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This woodcut was recovered, with five other impressions, from use as endpapers in an account book. All six bear similar marginal damage, as the bookworms or other insects burrowed all the way through the volume. No other impressions of the print are known. This mismatch between the spiritual character of the prints and the worldly, business context in which they were found appears to be the result of simple reuse of scarce paper stocks, rather than an attempt to increase profits by calling on Saint Francis de Paul.

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.