3-028-265 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

"The Shrine of St. Sebald, Nuremberg," by Samuel Read, 1870. One of the '...finest works of sculpture in bronze in existence...Peter Vischer...attained a purity and nobility of style which is unique in early Northern art. The unrivalled shrine of St. Sebald [in the church of that saint] was executed by him and his five sons between 1508 and 1519; the enormous amount of labour lavished upon it fully accounting for the length of time expended on its execution. The sarcophagus...is inclosed within a structure rising on eight slender pillars, and the whole is crowned by three rich baldachins. This outer structure exhibits the slender lighter arrangements of the Gothic style, while the details point to the most elegant Renaissance. Yet the diverse elements are blended into a wonderful combination of freedom and harmony...In addition to countless ornamental reliefs, the monument is peopled by innumerable little figures of apostles, prophets, and antique heroes; allegorical and mythological beings, nymphs, mermaids and genii; recumbent lions and gigantic snails; or bas-reliefs illustrating St. Sebald's miracles'. From "Illustrated London News", 1870.