Flemish, Flanders
Saint Christopher Carrying the Christ Child, 16th century
Brown ink and wash on paper , 14.6 x 20.3 cm (5 3/4 x 8 in.)
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This vertical, rectangular ink and wash painting depicts a blurred scene of a figure struggling to carry a child on his back across a river. The figure is Saint Christopher and the child is Christ. The figures of Saint Christopher and the Christ Child are in the foreground to our right side of the paper. Saint Christopher is in profile, taking broad steps to our left. He strides with his body bent forward and his head bent slightly down. His muscular legs press down and forward as he moves through the water. His left arm hangs down by his side; with his right hand, he grips a thin, bare tree trunk rooted in the water. A garment swirls around his body from the waist down. The Christ Child sits astride the man’s shoulders with his left leg and left arm visibly wrapped around St. Christopher’s neck and head. The child’s head is turned to face the viewer and he points up the sky with a finger on his right hand. On land, just ahead of the couple, is a figure in profile wearing a hooded cape over a robe and holding a lantern in their right hand. Behind this figure, the clear river swirls over rocks and plants. Further to the left, there is a barely-visible figure from behind who has an arm stretched up, possibly pulling himself up out of the water. In the painting’s mid-ground is the land, Saint Christopher’s destination. On the far side to the right is a small area with high and low white buildings surrounded by trees. On the far side to the left is another village setting with white buildings and tall trees to the right and left. In the background, the land gradually becomes the sky, with hatch marks, vertical, horizontal, and diagonal, to depict the land, and an area of white space for the sky. Inscribed in the upper corner to our right are the letters J.C.R.
Short Gallery
Commentary
In Christian religions, Saint Christopher—the patron saint and protector of travelers—carried the Christ Child across a treacherous river. In this drawing, Christopher is straining against the wind and water as he approaches the safety of the river bank.Isabella Stewart Gardner purchased this drawing at auction in 1902, when it was believed to be the work of Leonardo da Vinci. Although this attribution has been disproven and the true artist is currently unidentified, it is still an excellent example of early sixteenth-century pen-and-ink drawing.