The Penance of Saint John Chrysostom

c. 1497

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

This print depicts a woman sitting with a child under a rocky outcrop. The woman is holding the child close to her chest, and the child appears to be breastfeeding. The woman has long flowing hair and is naked, facing slightly to the right. The child seems to be partially wrapped in a draped piece of cloth. The background shows rugged terrain with rocks and foliage, and in the distance to the left, a castle and more trees can be seen. A man is also visible, crawling on the ground towards the left. He has a long beard and is nude, and thin rays seem to radiate from his head.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimed to plate): 18 × 11.9 cm (7 1/16 × 4 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3460

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 54

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Sir Peter Lely [1618 - 1680], London (Lugt 2092); The Hon. John Spencer, [1708 - 1746], Althorp (Lugt 1532); by descent through the Spencer family; (Spencer sale, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, 25 June 1919, lot no. 51); Hendrikus Egbertus Ten Cate [1868-1955], Almelo, Netherlands (Lugt 533b); (M Knoedler and Co., NY); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b and Lugt 1932d), 1930; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1969

  • Symbols in Transformation: Iconographic Themes at the Time of the Reformation, Princeton University Art Museum, 1969, no. 57, repro.

1970

  • Albrecht Dürer, 1471-1528: A Study Exhibition of Print Connoisseurship, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1970-1971, no. 6A.

1971

  • Albrecht Dürer: The Early Graphic Works, Princeton University Art Museum, NJ, 1971, no. 4, repro.

Bibliography

1932

  • Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog; ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustände, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen. Vienna: Verlag Gilhofer und Ranschburg, 1932. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.

2001

  • Schoch, Rainer, Mattihas Mende, and Anna Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk. Munich, 2001: vol. 1: no. 7.

Inscriptions

in plate, bottom center: AD [artist's monogram]; recto, bottom right, in brown ink by a later hand: A9 [?] 39; verso, lower right, in graphite by a later hand: 48; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: C.19385; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: Cons 8570; verso, bottom center, in graphite by a later hand: J 4256 / K 8184; verso, bottom center, in graphite by a later hand: NR [?]

Wikidata ID

Q1211814

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