Madonna Enthroned with Eight Angels

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Artist: Master E. S. (German)
Medium: Engraving
Culture: Germany
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

The first engraver to date and monogram his works (with an “ES”), and perhaps the first to use a specialized roller press, Master ES came from southern Germany, along the Rhine River. His technique shows goldsmith training. Some of the marks were cut with broad and thin burins (steel engraving tools). Others were made with a ring-shaped punch (a steel tool struck with a hammer).

These are visible as small circles on the Virgin Mary’s hem and the textured background, imitating a textile, behind her. The scene may depict a miraculous statue of the Virgin that was then at a Swiss Benedictine monastery. The engraver may have been commissioned by the church to make the image to appeal to pilgrims. The unusual shapes at the top of the canopy are the print’s date: "1467."