/art-calendar

Date

c. 1605

Origin

Germany

Medium

Oil on copper

Dimensions

21 × 16.3 cm (8 1/4 × 6 3/8 in.); Framed: 33 × 26.7 × 2.5 cm (13 × 10 1/2 × 1 in.)

Credit

Lacy Armour Fund, Chester D. Tripp Estate Fund, European Painting General Sales Proceeds, Mrs. Albert Beveridge Fund, Rhoades Foundation

Adam Elsheimer created imaginary, highly composed landscapes in small paintings on copper. Traveling to Rome in 1600, he was inspired by the city's monuments and artistic environment. In this work, the youthful saint echoes ancient Greek and Roman sculpture while the wooded landscape is indebted to Northern European painting. Though Elsheimer died in Rome at a young age, his painting influenced his fellow artists, including Peter Paul Rubens.