Shield with a Lion, Held by an Angel n.d.

Martin Schongauer created this engraving of an angel holding a shield with a lion sometime in the late fifteenth century. Prints like this circulated widely in Northern Europe at the time, both as works of art, and as models for other craftsmen. Here we see the image functioning as a kind of luxury good, emblazoned with a coat of arms; possibly intended to commemorate a noble family or important institution in Schongauer's native Germany. The politics of imagery in the late medieval period cannot be underestimated. Heraldry was a visual language of power. By combining it with the figure of a celestial angel, Schongauer suggests divine approval of a particular family or social order. The engraving itself speaks to institutional histories, it was an intervention in debates surrounding artistic innovation and the rise of printmaking. To truly understand this image, we might consider the social and economic conditions of its making. It's also worth looking at how changing attitudes toward religion influenced the production and reception of art.