Saints Stephen, Sixtus and Laurence
c. 1504-5
Albrecht Dürer brings three heavy-hitters of early Christianity together in this striking print from around 1504. In the center stands Pope Sixtus II, sporting a fancy triple-tiered papal crown and holding a triple cross, looking rather stern. He's flanked by two deacons: Saint Stephen on the left clutching a palm frond (the universal symbol of martyrdom), and Saint Lawrence on the right holding a book and the gridiron he was famously roasted on. Dürer’s incredible attention to the heavy, folded drapery of their robes shows why he was the superstar of the Northern Renaissance, turning religious prints into absolute masterpieces of detail.
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