Heinecken,[1] in the middle of the last century, pasted inside the cover of a manuscript in the library of the convent of Buxheim, in Suabia. It represents St. Christopher, according to a favorite legend of the Middle Ages, fording a river with the infant Christ upon his shoulders; opposite, on the right bank, a hermit holds a lantern before his cell; on the left a peasant, with a bag on his back, climbs the steep ascent from his mill to the cottage high up on the cliff, where no swelling of the stream will reach it. The attitude of the two heads is expressive, and the folds of the saint's robes are well cast about the shoulders; in other respects the cut has little artistic merit, but the attempt to mark shadows by a greater or less width of line is noticeable, and the lines in general are much more varied than is usual in early work. It was printed in black ink, and with a press. There are two other early prints, the dates of which are uncertain, but still sufficiently probable to deserve mention—the warmly controverted Brussels print[2] of 1418, which represents the Virgin and Child, surrounded by four saints, in an enclosed garden, in the style of the Van Eycks, and with more artistic merit than the St. Christopher in design, drawing, and execution; and, secondly, the St. Sebastian of 1437, at Vienna. The former was discovered in 1844, in a bad condition, and the latter in 1779; both are taken off in pale ink, and with a
- ↑ Heinecken, "Idée Générale d'une Collection complette d'Estampes." Leipsic et Vienne, 1771; p. 250.
- ↑ Those who are curious may consult on this print "Quelques Mots sur la Gravure au millésime de 1418," par C. D. B. (M. de Brou). Bruxelles, 1846. "La Plus Ancienne Gravure connue avec une date," Mémoire par M. le Baron de Reiffenberg. Bruxelles, 1845: also, in favor of the date, the works of Ruelens, Luthereau, Renouvier, Berjeau, and against it, the works of Passavant, LaCroix, and Chatto.
