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This is a drawing of a historical religious scene depicting devotion. The image features a detailed scene where a kneeling figure is engaged in a pose of reverence or prayer before a seated figure of a woman holding a child. The setting is an architectural interior with arches and elaborate ornamentation. The seated figure and child are surrounded by an aura or halo. The background contains a view beyond the arches to a distant landscape with buildings. The lines and shading create a textured, rich depiction indicative of traditional engraving techniques.
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This is a drawing of a historical religious scene depicting devotion. The image features a detailed scene where a kneeling figure is engaged in a pose of reverence or prayer before a seated figure of a woman holding a child. The setting is an architectural interior with arches and elaborate ornamentation. The seated figure and child are surrounded by an aura or halo. The background contains a view beyond the arches to a distant landscape with buildings. The lines and shading create a textured, rich depiction indicative of traditional engraving techniques.

National Gallery of Art · Print

A Cleric Kneeling before the Virgin and the Christ Child

Albrecht Altdorfer

Date
c. 1519
Medium
woodcut on laid paper
Dimensions
block: 16.8 × 12 cm (6 5/8 × 4 3/4 in.) sheet: 17 × 12.3 cm (6 11/16 × 4 13/16 in.)
Classification
Print
Accession number
1941.1.105
Credit line
Gift of W.G. Russell Allen
Time span
1501 to 1550
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • architecture
  • Mother and Child
  • Male figure
  • Danube
  • Costume
Provenance

acquired 1854 by British Museum, London (Lugt 302), and subsequently sold as a duplicate (Lugt 305). W.G. Russell Allen [1882-1955], Boston; gift to the NGA, 1941.

NGA object ID 683. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.