Saint Anthony Reading

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Artist Albrecht Dürer (German, May 21, 1471–April 6, 1528)

Title Saint Anthony Reading (Der heilige Antonius vor der Stadt)

Date 1519

Medium Engraving on paper

Dimensions Image: 3 7/8 x 5 9/16 in. (9.8 x 14.1 cm)
Sheet: 3 7/8 x 5 9/16 in. (9.8 x 14.1 cm)

Credit Line William H. Conroy Memorial, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 72.127.3

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About this Work

Venerated in the Middle Ages for his miraculous ability to heal painful diseases of the skin, Saint Anthony sits here at rest, completely absorbed by his reading. It is as if the saint’s magical healing powers now yield to the curative power of God’s word alone. Behind Anthony, one of Dürer’s most exquisite city views rises silently in the distance, a panoramic miniature whose charm is heightened by the engraving’s unusual oblong format, a rarity in the artist’s work. Executed in an undulating palette of soft gray tones, the engraving evokes a soundscape as much as it does a cityscape, a brief but powerful interlude of unsurpassed tranquility.

Provenance
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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

Publisher Albrecht Dürer (German, May 21, 1471–April 6, 1528)

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"Saint Anthony Reading | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=72.127.3