Heinrich Aldegrever, Engraving, The Good Samaritan, 16th Century, 1554

Heinrich Aldegrever, Engraving, Good Samaritan, 16th Century, 1554

Rare original engraving by Heinrich Aldegrever, dated 1554, the first plate from the series devoted to the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Early impression on laid paper, monogrammed and dated in the plate, with an old circular collector’s mark on the reverse.

Heinrich Aldegrever (Paderborn, c. 1502 – Soest, 1555/1561) was one of the leading German engravers of the 16th century and one of the principal representatives of the so-called Kleinmeister, the “Little Masters” of the German Renaissance. His graphic work belongs to the tradition of Albrecht Dürer, evident in the precision of the burin, the dense system of hatching and cross-hatching, the meticulous handling of detail, and the ability to give monumentality to figures despite the very small format.

The engraving depicts The Traveller Attacked by Robbers, the first episode in a series of four engravings illustrating the Parable of the Good Samaritan, from the Gospel of Luke. The stripped and wounded traveller lies in the foreground while the robbers move away with their booty, within a finely constructed landscape.

Engraving on laid paper.
Sheet: approx. 112 × 83 mm.

Monogram AG and date 1554 on the small tablet within the composition.

Inscription in the lower margin:
HOMO DESCENDENS IERVSOLIMA INCIDIT IN LATRONES LVC IO

Fine early impression, sharp and well inked, with small margins. Old circular collector’s mark on the reverse, not identified with certainty.

References: Bartsch 40; Hollstein 40; New Hollstein 40.

Examples of this engraving are preserved, among others, in the Louvre, Rijksmuseum and Petit Palais.