The Penance of Saint John Chrysostom

Artist: Lucas Cranach the Elder, German, 1472–1553
Date: 1509
Material: Engraving
Classification: Prints
Collection: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
Current Location: Not on view
Dimensions: plate: 10 1/16 x 7 7/8 in. (25.6 x 20 cm)
sheet: 10 1/16 x 7 7/8 in. (25.6 x 20 cm)
Credit Line: Museum Purchase
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 83:1953

NOTES

The titular saint enacting his penance is buried in the background. According to legend, he seduced a princess who sheltered in his cave. In some versions, he threw her over a cliff afterwards, and for this double crime he crawled on all fours in the desert. The princess and her child in the foreground were later found alive and thriving.

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