Adam ElsheimerGerman, 1578–1610Saint Christopher
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Saint Christopher” now? State Hermitage Museum, Room 255, Saint Petersburg. Yes, on view now. Checked August 29, 2026.
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Open now· until 9:00 PM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Museum text in Russian
В небольшой, кабинетного формата картине представлена сцена из апокрифической легенды о Христофоре - силаче-язычнике, который встретил младенца Христа и был обращен в христианство. В живописи Эльсхеймера свет - один из главных образных элементов. В картине "Св. Христофор" это и лунный свет, и мистический, исходящий от младенца Христа, и отмечающий огоньком факела фигуру отшельника. Тонко воссозданные нюансы освещения придают ночной сцене таинственность и одухотворенность. Пластическая проработка фигур напоминает манеру Тинторетто. Картина, вероятно, была известна в Риме в начале XVII в., так как голову младенца Христа копировал Рубенс, живший в то время в Италии. Наряду с Рубенсом воздействие творчества Эльсхеймера испытали мастера разных школ - Рембрандт, Ластман, Фетти, Пуссен, Лоррен.
State Hermitage Museum
Details
- Accession number
- ГЭ-694
In the catalog
Sources
- State Hermitage Museum
- Image: State Hermitage Museum — Museum open access
In the life of Adam Elsheimer
The whole life1596
A probable visit to Strasbourg
He probably visited Strasbourg in 1596, before leaving for Italy.
1598
Sets out for Italy via Munich
At twenty he travelled to Italy, and he is documented in Munich in 1598. His teacher Philipp Uffenbach specialised in large altarpieces, whereas Elsheimer’s earliest small paintings on copper seem to date from before he reached Italy.
early 1600
Arrives in Rome
He arrives in Rome in early 1600. His stay in Venice is undocumented, but its influence on his style is clear: he is believed to have painted “The Baptism of Christ” (London) and “The Holy Family” (Berlin) there, which show the influence of Tintoretto, Veronese and Rottenhammer.
1600
Befriends Faber and Bril in Rome
Soon after arriving he befriends contacts of Rottenhammer: Giovanni Faber, a papal doctor, botanist and collector from Bamberg who was curator of the Vatican Botanical Garden, and the Flemish landscape painter Paul Bril, long established in Rome. Both had converted from Lutheranism to Catholicism, as Elsheimer would later do.
1601
Meets Rubens
Rubens, who was in Rome in 1601 and knew both Faber and Bril, becomes another friend of Elsheimer and later reproaches him for not producing more work. Elsheimer also knew David Teniers the Elder, recently Rubens’ pupil, and there is evidence that the two lodged together.
