9. Barthel Beham (1502-1540) and
Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550)

The Penance of St. John Chrysostomus

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Beham, The Penance

The Penance of St. John Chrysostomus

Engraving, ca. 1525-45, 54 x 77 mm., Bartsch 215 (HSB), Pauli 70 viii/viii, ex collection: P. von Baldinger Seidenberg (Lugt 212). Brilliant impression on laid paper (the paper lightly toned), trimmed on or just inside the platemark but the borderline visible all around; a tiny un-inked dot near the woman's head. The plate was first engraved by Barthel, ca. 1525-28. Upon his death, the plate passed to his brother who reworked and elaborated it through a number of states. States i-iii, then, are by Barthel; states iv-viii are with Sebald's additions. The saint here is reduced to groveling in penance in the background. The foreground is reserved for the beautiful female nude and their child. Bartsch did not recognize its religious derivation, hence his late number. Superb print.