Who painted The Sudarium Held by One Angel?

The Sudarium Held by One Angel was painted by Albrecht Dürer in 1516.

Where can I see The Sudarium Held by One Angel?

The Sudarium Held by One Angel is held by British Museum.

What movement is The Sudarium Held by One Angel?

The Sudarium Held by One Angel is associated with Northern Renaissance.

Can I buy a print of The Sudarium Held by One Angel?

Museum-quality prints of The Sudarium Held by One Angel are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

The Sudarium Held by One Angel

Albrecht Dürer , 1516

The Sudarium Held by One Angel is an ink print by the Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. It dates from 1516 and is held in the collection of the British Museum.

Inscription: Inscribed:in plate, lower right, on scroll: 1516 / AD [artist's monogram]; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: la Face du Jesus Christi [the face of Jesus Christ]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: B-6; verso, bottom left, in graphite by a later hand: wo [?]; verso, bottom left, in graphite by a later hand: 65 [?]

About this work

The cloth is the Veil of Veronica, linked to a Christian story of Saint Veronica wiping Jesus’s face.

This etching shows an angel holding a cloth with Jesus’s face pressed into it. The lines are sharp and fine, like a drawing made with a needle. The angel’s wings look heavy, almost like real feathers.

Dürer made this in 1516. It’s an early print, not a painting. The cloth is the Veil of Veronica, linked to a Christian story of Saint Veronica wiping Jesus’s face.

Look up etching. See how Dürer did it.

Subject & Meaning

The Sudarium Held by One Angel, created by Albrecht Dürer in 1516, depicts the Veil of Veronica, a sacred relic said to bear the imprint of Christ's face. The composition centers on an angel holding this veil, which serves as the main subject of the work. As a piece of religious art from the German Renaissance, the etching focuses on the veneration of this specific iconographic element.

The imagery represents the miraculous cloth associated with the Passion of Christ, emphasizing its spiritual significance within the context of Renaissance devotional prints.

Technique & Style

Printed in iron etching on laid paper, the work measures 18.5 cm in height by 13.5 cm in width. Executed in 1516 in Nuremberg, it depicts a Veil of Veronica held by an angel and showcases the fine line work and tonal contrast characteristic of Dürer’s mature draftsmanship. The sheet bears collector marks from the Lessing J. Rosenwald purchase in 1928 and now resides in the National Gallery of Art, where it is conserved under controlled conditions to preserve its delicate paper surface.

History & Provenance

Created in 1516 in Nuremberg, The Sudarium Held by One Angel is an etching on iron by Albrecht Dürer. The work depicts the Veil of Veronica held by an angel and belongs to the German Renaissance tradition. Its documented ownership chain begins with Lessing J. Rosenwald of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, who acquired the print in 1928.

Rosenwald subsequently donated the work to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1943, where it remains part of the Rosenwald Collection. While other institutions hold impressions of the work, the specific provenance of the National Gallery's impression is traced directly to this mid-20th-century donation.

One impression of Albrecht Dürer's 1516 etching The Sudarium Held by One Angel is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as part of the Rosenwald Collection. This specific sheet was acquired by Lessing J. Rosenwald in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, in 1928 and subsequently gifted to the National Gallery of Art in 1943. While other institutions such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the British Museum also hold impressions of this print, the National Gallery's accession is explicitly documented through the Rosenwald provenance. No specific exhibition history or inventory accession numbers are provided in the available records.

Overview

The Sudarium Held by One Angel is an etching by Albrecht Dürer, created in 1516. It is a print on laid paper, depicting an angel holding a cloth with Jesus's face.