Sudarium Held by Two Angels

durersudarium

Albrecht Durer (1471-1528),  Sudarium Held by Two Angels, engraving, 1513 [with the monogram and date on the tablet].  References: Bartsch 25, Meder, Hollstein 26. In excellent condition, 4 x 5 1/2 inches.

A superb, very early impression, with small margins.

PROVENANCE:

F.B. 1602 (Lugt 365, 369, identified in the Fisher sale catalogue as Borduge 23-27 May, 1892, lot 197)

Dr. W. Krieg (Lugt 799b)

Pierre Mariette (tracing of signature verso)

R. Fisher (L. 2204)

Dr. and Mrs. Edgar F. Paltzer-Boker (stamp verso, not in Lugt)

Dr. Edward H. Paltzer and Gabriele Paltzer-Lang (stamp verso, not in Lugt) .

This engraving is derived from the legend of St. Veronica. The earliest version, recorded in the 6th C., speaks of the cloth merely as a commemorative image of Christ commissioned by the saint. By 1300, in the influential Bible of Roger d’Argenteuil, the saint, taking pity on Jesus on his way to Calvary, hands him the kerchief to wipe his face, and miraculously his features are imprinted upon it.