Saint Onuphrius 1440 - 1490

Curator: Before us, we see an intriguing piece titled "Saint Onuphrius." Its origins trace back to somewhere between 1440 and 1490. The artwork currently resides here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Well, the initial impact is certainly…unconventional. There’s something naive yet arresting in its presentation of form and space, with those vivid if somewhat crude watercolors. And, it almost seems like Onuphrius is wearing a suit of leaves. Curator: Precisely! This coloration signals that this print depicting the saint was hand-colored, probably soon after printing. Let’s recall that Onuphrius was an Egyptian hermit, venerated as a saint. It’s very common for depictions of him in medieval art to be quite striking in his attire, or rather, lack thereof, given he is often shown only with his long hair covering his nakedness. Editor: Right, right! It looks to me as though the printmaker has adopted an almost linear, graphic sensibility here, particularly if we focus on Onuphrius’s long, unruly hair or the sharp outlines of the distant castle. It is very eye-catching in those repetitive, rather schematic depictions of trees and rocks. Curator: You have to remember the cultural and social role images like these had during the medieval period. This print, like similar devotional images, would have helped its owner contemplate on religious stories. Saint Onuphrius’ life, full of devotion and sacrifice, offered a direct connection to faith for many. Editor: So, beyond just a connection to faith, do you think that the saint, kneeling piously on a rocky plane, is in any way an attempt to make a link between earthly life and ethereal transcendence, if you look at the strange angel-like creature in the corner of the scene? It feels to me as though these graphic forms speak in a much more basic language of spatial organization. Curator: Perhaps, and those connections are exactly what artists tried to accomplish through these scenes! That's an excellent point to remember the value this artwork, its narrative, had for those who beheld it so long ago. Editor: Indeed, an exercise in style, devotional purpose, and visual design; all coming together to create this simple yet undeniably alluring artwork.