Sebald Beham’s engraving, “St. Anthony the Hermit”, 1521

Sebald Beham (aka Hans Sebald Beham; Sebald Peham) (1500–1550)

“St. Anthony the Hermit” (aka “S. Antoine l’Ermit”; “Saint Anthony the Great as Hermit”; “Heilige Antonius de Grote als kluizenaar”), 1521.

Engraving on laid paper, trimmed around the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (support sheet) 22.9 x 19 cm; (sheet) 19.1 x 16.3 cm.

Inscribed in plate: (on tablet at lower left corner) “1521/ [artist’s monogram] IsP”.

State i (of i)

Pauli 68 (Gustav Pauli 1901, “Hans Sebald Beham: ein kritisches Verzeichniss seiner Kupferstiche, Radirungen und Holzschnitte”, Strassburg, p. 80, cat. no. 68); TIB 1(8).64(141) (Robert A Koch [ed.] 1978, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Early German Masters”, vol. 15, New York, Abaris Books, p. 60, cat no. 64 [141]); Holstein German 68.

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “Anthony the Great is depicted here as a young hermit in the desert writing in his book with his gaze fixed on a crucifix. He is accompanied by a pig and on the floor is another attribute, a bell. In general, in his role as a hermit, this saint was depicted as an old man with a beard. In this case, however, under the monk's habit at the bare knees, a powerful young body is visible.” (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.31104)

See also the description of this print offered by the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1850-0612-261.

Condition: a well-printed impression with no significant stains or foxing, trimmed around the image borderline and laid onto archival (millennium quality) washi paper providing wide margins.

I am selling this exceptionally fine engraving executed with the utmost sensitivity, showing St Anthony as a muscly young man writing while he contemplates a crucifix mounted in a dead tree stump—possibly Beham’s choice of this base for the crucifix is symbolic of the cycle of death and rebirth/resurrection as dead trees were often shown beside regenerating ones at the time (but I could be wrong of course!)—for the total cost of AU$655 (currently US$467.98/EUR424.64/GBP377.76 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this superb engraving of one of the earliest of the Desert Fathers and now celebrated as "the father of monasticism", please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold