c. 1506
St. Christopher at the Border of a River
Lucas van LeydenNetherlandish (active Leiden), c. 1494 - 1533
Saint Christopher, whose name means "bearer of Christ," was revered as the patron of travelers. In legend, he is described as a Turkish giant who carried travelers across a river near the house of a hermit. One night he carried a small child who grew so heavy that both nearly sank before the child revealed himself as Christ. Lucas's engraving, one of his earliest, shows the ungainly saint reaching for his staff as he sets off to fetch the Christ child, who beckons from the opposite shore.
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