St. Christopher (1478–1506): Art, History and Details

St. Christopher (1478–1506) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Alart du Hameel (Netherlandish, c. 1449–c.1507).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Alart Du Hameel was a registered stonemason at Saint John’s Cathedral in s’Hertogenbosch in the southern Netherlands. For this intricately detailed engraving, he was likely inspired by a work by Hieronymus Bosch, who lived in the same city. The bold outlines, fine hatching, and nonnaturalistic water motifs suggest training in both goldsmithing and decorative stonework. The scene teems with merfolk, demons, and fantastical creatures that evoke Bosch’s paintings of hellscapes. At its center, Saint Christopher carries the Christ child across a river, following a hermit’s advice (seen at left) to serve the world’s most powerful king.

Object facts

• Title: St. Christopher
• Date: 1478–1506
• Creator attribution: Alart du Hameel (Netherlandish, c. 1449–c.1507)
• Culture: Netherlands, 15th century
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1954.567

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.