The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

The Battle of St. James the Greater at Clavijo

The Battle of St. James the Greater at Clavijo

1470–75

attributed to Martin Schongauer

(German, c.1450–1491)
Germany, 15th century
engraving
Sheet: 28.9 x 43.3 cm (11 3/8 x 17 1/16 in.)
Gift of Ralph King 1924.213
Catalogue raisonné: Lehrs V.376.1
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

In this unfinished plate, the shield in the right foreground, the fallen horse at the bottom left, the points on the lances of the soldier in the upper left corner, and the hilly landscape are all details left uncompleted.

Description

According to legend, in 846 A.D. during a battle in Clavijo, one of the Christ's apostles and the patron saint of Spain, Saint James the Greater, miraculously appeared on the battlefield and helped the Christian armies of the Spanish king Ramirez defeat Muslim forces. Martin Schongauer portrays the climax of the battle, as Saint James appears on his steed at the center of the scene amidst gruesome beheaded corpses and dismembered limbs. The saint is brandishing a sword and wearing a scallop shell on his hat--an emblem adopted and worn by pilgrims during their travels to James's burial place, the Spanish Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
  • ?-1924
    Ralph King [1855-1926], Cleveland Heights, OH
    January 31, 1924
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 2-August 2, 1987).
    The Print Club of Cleveland, 1919 - 1969: Fifty Years in Review. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 14-March 31, 1970).
    15th Century German Engravings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 15-December 11, 1938).
    Inaugural Exhibition of the New Print Gallery - Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 10-November 13, 1938).
    15th Century German and Netherlands Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 11-28, 1935).
    Prints of the Fifteenth to Twentieth Century from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 5-September 12, 1934).
    Italian and German Prints of the 15th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29, 1933-January 3, 1934).
    Miscellaneous Prints and Drawings from the Museum Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 23-October 23, 1924).
  • {{cite web|title=The Battle of St. James the Greater at Clavijo|url=false|author=Martin Schongauer|year=1470–75|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1924.213