1586
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Si mortiferum quid biberint ... (Saint John the Evangelist) is a 1586 ink by Hieronymus Wierix, a Renaissance work, depicting John the Evangelist, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows Saint John drinking from a poisoned cup. A small angel hovers nearby. The poison steams as John blesses it. Old prints like this often tell stories in tiny details. Here, the angel’s faint outline tells us good power stops the poison’s harm. Cross-hatching makes shadows deep and smooth. Look up engraving to see how artists cut lines into metal.
Hieronymus Wierix (1553–1619) was a Flemish engraver, draughtsman and publisher. He is known for his reproductive engravings after the work of well-known local and foreign artists including Albrecht Dürer. Together with…
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