Cleveland Museum of Art

Saint Eustace

Albrecht Dürer

Date

c. 1501

Medium

engraving

Culture

Germany, late 15th-early 16th Century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Here, an encounter with nature dramatically alters a man’s journey through life. After Roman general Placidas tracked a stag in the forest, he saw a miraculous apparition of a crucifix between its horns. The miracle resulted in the general’s (thereafter Saint Eustace) immediate conversion to Christianity. Albrecht Dürer’s largest engraving demonstrates his mastery of tonal values and textures. His intense interest in nature’s variety makes finding the crucifix a kind of treasure hunt. Dürer took particular interest in the hunting dogs by carefully posing them to show five different aspects of the canine figure. The artist showed an interest in how bodies move in space by depicting a hunting dog five times from different angles.

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