The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 24, 2024
The Penance of St. John Chrysostom
c. 1497
Location: not on view
Description
In the late Middle Ages an unusual legend was assigned to John Chrysostom, a hermit saint who lived in the wilderness. The story related that the daughter of the emperor lost her way during a storm and found shelter in the saint’s cave. In weakness, he betrayed his vow of chastity and in guilt, threw her off a cliff. To repent, John crawled like a beast in the wild for many years. When the girl was miraculously found alive with her child, John was absolved of his sins. Dürer’s focus on the mother and child is unprecedented in representations of the story. Although scholars generally view this print as an opportunity for the artist to depict the female nude, it is also possible that Dürer sought to illustrate a mother’s pure love and its virtuous triumph over sin.- Dürer’s Women: Images of Devotion and Desire. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 28, 2014).16th Century German Engravings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1938-January 22, 1939).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).Recent Accessions of Prints, 1933-34. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20-March 13, 1935).
- {{cite web|title=The Penance of St. John Chrysostom|url=false|author=Albrecht Dürer|year=c. 1497|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1934.339