The Bearer of the Banner of the Canton Glarus

Urs Graf

1521 · Pen and brown ink · Drawings and Prints

Conceived as one of a series of standard-bearers of the thirteen cantons of the Swiss Confederacy, this drawing depicts a mercenary holding the banner of Glarus, featuring the sixth-century Irish monk Saint Fridolin, who converted the region to Christianity. The importance given to the saint makes him appear almost alive, but his meek expression contrasts with the vigorous stance of the standard-bearer and the latter’s fashionable clothes. The often unorthodox subjects depicted by Urs Graf, who for a time served as a mercenary himself, are matched by his exuberant, calligraphic manner of drawing.

Artist

Urs Graf

Date

1521

Medium

Pen and brown ink

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Promised Gift of Leon D. and Debra R. Black, and Purchase, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 2003