St. Peter and St. John healing the lame man at the gate of the temple
Original title: St. Peter and St. John healing the lame man at the gate of the temple
kurzbeschreibung
Battista Franco made this etching around 1554–61. It takes up the biblical account in which the apostles Peter and John heal a lame man at the temple gate. The impression is the second state, measures 25 x 40.6 cm, and has been trimmed at the margin.
Description
Peter and John hold the center of the layout, touching the kneeling lame man as he stretches out his arms and legs. On the left a man with a stick points to the invalid, while on the right other onlookers, among them a woman with a child, follow what is happening. Columns and part of the temple rise behind them. Varied hatching and shading bring out the figures and the architecture, and the image stays monochrome throughout.
Context
Battista Franco, an Italian painter and printmaker of the Renaissance, produced this etching in the mid-sixteenth century. His source was the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 3:1–10). Biblical subjects were widely circulated in print at the time. Franco was shaped by Michelangelo's forms and by Roman antiquity, which shows in the monumental conception of his figures.
Impact
The clear, storytelling arrangement lays the moment of healing before the viewer, dramatic and calm at once. Fine hatching and a balanced spread of light and shadow give the sheet a noble, detailed air, drawing the viewer into the scene.
Technique
For this etching the drawing was scratched into a metal plate and bitten with acid. The second state points to later reworking or additions to the plate. The sheet was trimmed to the platemark, as was usual for impressions of the period.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)