St. Luke Painting the Virgin (1526): Art, History and Details

St. Luke Painting the Virgin (1526) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Dirk Vellert (Netherlandish, 1480/85–1547).

The work and its context

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

Though exposed to the works of Albrecht Dürer and Lucas van Leyden, Dirk Vellert came from an applied arts background, including glass painting, which may explain his ornamental approach to engraving. His techniques emphasize texture and pattern over volume and space. In this print Vellert depicted Saint Luke, the patron saint of artists, known for his miraculous vision of the Virgin Mary.

Object facts

• Title: St. Luke Painting the Virgin
• Date: 1526
• Creator attribution: Dirk Vellert (Netherlandish, 1480/85–1547)
• Culture: Netherlands, 16th century
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Dimensions: Sheet: 17.1 x 12.3 cm (6 3/4 x 4 13/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1936.663

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. Ralph King

Further reading listed by the museum

• Francis, Henry. "Dirk Vellert-Etcher." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 25, no. 1 (January 1938): 6-10.

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.