Saint Dorothy
1520
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1520
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Saint Dorothy is a 1520 by Hans Springinklee, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman in a long cloak holds a basket of roses and a thistle. A small child stands beside her, offering flowers. The background is plain, but the cloak and crown shimmer with gold and silver touches. This print looks simple, but it’s cleverly made. The paper was painted yellow first, then printed with black lines. Later, someone added real gold and silver to make the saint’s robe and crown glow. The child and basket fit neatly into one side—this was a removable part of the printing block, so the artist could change details without redoing the whole thing. To see more like this, look up *sfumato*.
