5. Lucas van Leyden
(1494-1533)

St. Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata

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van Leyden, St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata

Engraving, ca. 1514, 105 x 84 mm., Bartsch 120, New Hollstein 120 a (of c). Very fine, dark impression, with a range of tone, on laid paper trimmed along the borderline which is visible in places on all sides; a few minor thin spots, some pale ink smudges at the lower left corner, possibly left from the inking of the plate. The subject has inspired many great works of art but perhaps none more concentrated and pithy than Lucas’ depiction. The impression is what a Lucas van Leyden engraving should look like but all too often does not.