Lines and Colors art blog

Eye Candy for Today: Dürer’s St. Eustace

St Eustace, Albrecht Durer, engraving
St Eustace, Albrecht Dürer

Engraving, roughly 14 x 10 inches (35 x 26 cm).

Link is to zoomable version on Google Art project; downloadable file on Wikimedia Commons, original of this impression is in the National Gallery of Victoria, which also has a zoomable image.

In this tour-de-force engraving — created at the dawn of the 16th century — Dürer uses the story of St Eustace’s conversion, on seeing a stag with a crucifix, to show us mountains, streams, bridges, swans, a wooded landscape, individual trees, rocks, weapons, saddlery, the stag, a magnificent horse and several amazing hounds.

He has devoted as much attention to the wealth of detail in the background (note the tiny rider on the path above the horse’s head) as he has on the wonderfully textural forms of the man and foreground animals.

Dürer’s engraved line has much of the loose freedom of etching or pen drawing — directional hatching giving life to foliage and fur, and depth and solidity to wood and stone.


Comments

4 responses to “Eye Candy for Today: Dürer’s St. Eustace”

  1. Durer’s work is always inspiring. Nice to start my day with Charley.

    1. Always my pleasure, Bill.

  2. HIlde Van den Abeele Avatar
    HIlde Van den Abeele

    The Master, thank you for remembering.

  3. It’s amazing. How can you add so many details and create impressive depth of the picture. Durer’s engravings are always stuning, just looking at all those shadings and lights.
    Thanx for the share.