The Vision of Saint Eustace

Albrecht Dürer|Anonymous, German, 16th century

16th century · Pen and brown and black ink, over traces of black chalk. · Drawings and Prints

Copying prints by renowned masters became a seminal part of artistic education in the late fifteenth century, enabling young artists to acquire a graphic vocabulary and develop a style of their own. This unfinished drawing, copied from Dürer’s engraving of Saint Eustace’s conversion (see 19.73.65), was likely completed by a novice. The draftsman first traced the outlines of the print in black chalk before reinforcing them in ink and then painstakingly filling in the forms with minute pen strokes of hatching and cross-hatching. Despite his best efforts, some passages, such as the horse’s hind leg, appear flat and awkward compared to Dürer’s original.

Artist

Albrecht Dürer|Anonymous, German, 16th century

Date

16th century

Medium

Pen and brown and black ink, over traces of black chalk.

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1880