Saint James the Major turned towards right, holding staff
Original title: Saint James the Major turned towards right, holding staff
kurzbeschreibung
Marcantonio Raimondi engraved Saint James the Greater in copper, likely between 1500 and 1550. This impression is from the first of two states. The saint appears in profile facing right, holding a staff in his right hand, dressed in a long-sleeved robe and a cap topped with a cross.
Description
Your eye follows the figure as he turns to the right, staff in his right hand. Over the long-sleeved robe sits a cap with a cross on top. His face is calm and serious. The background stays bare, made only of vertical strokes that suggest a woven texture. Bright, even light falls across the whole view, with no strong shadows or highlights; fine lines and hatching define the style of the sheet.
Context
Raimondi ranks among the important Italian engravers of the Renaissance and became known above all for his reproductive prints after models such as Raphael. This sheet falls in the years when he worked in Rome and helped shape printmaking as a means of spreading pictorial motifs. The first state of the engraving is dated around 1500–50; the exact circumstances are not fully recorded. The motif belongs to a series of saint depictions intended for both church and private use.
Impact
The figure's calm and seriousness pass to the viewer, creating a dignified, contemplative mood. Because the light is evenly distributed and the background remains bare, attention goes entirely to the saint and his attributes — the effect is clear and concentrated. Finely drawn lines and hatching give the sheet a detailed yet restrained aesthetic.
Technique
In engraving, the motif is cut into a copper plate and then printed on paper. The fine lines and hatching, typical of Raimondi's precise working method, allow a high degree of detail. Of two states, the first is present here, which points to a later revision or alteration of the motif by the artist.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)