St. Martin of Tours

Ca 1520. Woodcut

The first impression of the woodcut depicting Saint Martin and a beggar was issued in 1505–1507, when Hans Baldung worked as an assistant at the studio of the great German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer and was left in charge of the studio during the master’s trip to Italy. When Dürer returned to Nuremberg, the master’s monogram AD was added to the woodcut (the printing plate). By doing that, Dürer acknowledged the work as an official product of his studio, worthy of his trademark. Dürer’s monogram undoubtedly increased the price of prints and, despite the fact that painting was considered a more exclusive art form, for which Dürer was generously remunerated by rich patricians, the main income for the upkeep of the big studio came from the sale of the numerous impressions of prints. According to the tradition of the time, the print made by Hans Baldung, as Albrecht Dürer’s assistant, belonged to the master, who had the right to sell Baldung’s works as products of the studio. Baldung in return was free to use works of art available at the studio as models. When Baldung left Nuremberg in 1508, the printing plate remained in the possession of Dürer’s studio.