Saint Philip
1519
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1519
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Saint Philip is a 1519 ink by Hans Baldung Grien, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This is a black-and-white woodcut of a bearded man in a long robe. He holds a book in one hand and a tall staff in the other. His bare feet rest on a rough ground, and a small dog sits near him. The lines are sharp, showing folds in his clothes and wrinkles on his face. The artist used cross-hatching—lots of crisscrossed lines—to create shadows and texture. This was a common trick in woodcuts to make things look three-dimensional. Next, look up technique: woodcut to see how artists like this carved images into wood blocks.
