1485
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Saint Michael Slaying the Dragon is a 1485 ink by Martin Schongauer, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white print shows an angel with wings standing tall over a twisted, clawed dragon. The angel holds a spear and looks fierce, while the dragon coils below, its mouth open in a snarl. The angel’s robe flows around him, and the background has swirling lines that look like wind or movement. The artist used sharp lines and shading to make the scene feel dramatic. Notice how the angel’s wings and the dragon’s scales are made of tiny, crisscrossed lines—this gives them texture. This is an example of engraving, a technique where the artist etches lines into metal.
Martin Schongauer, also known as Martin Schön or Hübsch Martin by his contemporaries, was an Alsatian engraver and painter.
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