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Saint Dominic

Italian 15th Century

1450

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Religious Francis of Assisi

Dominant colour

Saint Dominic is a 1450 ink by Italian 15th Century, a Renaissance work, depicting Francis of Assisi, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Italian 15th Century
When & what style?: 1450 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This woodcut shows Saint Dominic kneeling with hands clasped. His halo glows faintly above a simple robe. The background is busy with tiny figures and buildings. Woodcuts were carved like stamps. Each print got colored by hand, so every copy looked a little different. This one mixes brown, red, and blue to highlight the saint. Look up the technique called woodcut next.

About the artist

Artist

Italian 15th Century

This anonymous Italian engraver from the 1490s carved images that could be peeled apart like paper dolls—each knot in the "First Knot" print was cut from a single sheet so you could lift the loops right off the page.

See the richer artist page