St. Christopher.

Heinrich Aldegrever was one of the so-called 'Little Masters', a group of German artists making small prints in the generation after Albrecht Dürer, who included Hans Baldung Grien, the Beham brothers and Georg Pencz. The close resemblance of his early work (as here) to that of Dürer led to Aldegrever being called the 'Albert of Westphalia', although his style went on to depart from his mentor's intricate line work to stress the optical effects of light and shadow. Aldegrever became a Lutheran convert in 1531, four years after this early career engraving; however, its theme would have been equally acceptable to Protestants and Catholics. Many of his subsequent works were ornamental engravings, used as models by artists and craftsmen well into the 17th century, while his images of virtues and vices are well represented in Te Papa's collection.

Here the much-loved patron saint of travellers is seen in a familiar depiction. Following the suggestion of a Christian hermit, he carried people across a dangerous stretch of river, assisted by his size and strength. After Christopher had performed this service for some time, a little child asked him to carry him across. During the crossing, the river became swollen and the child seemed as heavy as lead, so much so that Christopher could scarcely carry him and found himself in great difficulty. When he finally reached the other side, he said to the child: 'You have put me in the greatest danger. I do not think the whole world could have been as heavy on my shoulders as you were'. The child replied: 'You had on your shoulders not only the whole world but Him who made it. I am Christ your king, whom you are serving by this work'. The child then vanished.

Aldegrever's engraving is an interesting fusion of Dürer's two engravings, St Christopher facing right and St Christopher facing left. The figures of Christopher and the child are closer to St Christopher facing right, which suggests Aldegrever directly copied Dürer's print from which our engraving was then made. Aldegrever's child is given more voluminous drapery and his gesture is more overtly one of blessing. The landscape, however, is far more closely cropped and this in turn suggests Aldegrever copied St Christopher facing left as a basis for it. The tablet inscribed '1527 AG' is a witty variation, 'Alde-Grever', on Albrecht Dürer's '1521 AD'. Aldegrever's engraving was a tribute to Dürer's two originals, probably with a canny eye on their popularity and likely sales.

Mark Stocker  Curator, Historical International Art        December 2016