Albrecht Dürer: The Vision of Saint Eustace (1499 - 1503)

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

A beautiful engraving by the German artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). Saint Eustace of Rome is a Christian soldier saint. According to the story he was a Roman general called Placidus during the time of the Roman emperor Trajan (reign A.D. 98 - 117). During a hunt Placidus saw a stag and went after it. All of a sudden the stag stopped and Placidus saw a vision of a crucifix lodged between the stag's antlers (shown here on the print). Placidus was immediately converted and changed his name to Eustace (Greek for ' well standing' or 'steadfast'). After his conversion the saint befell a series of calamities to test his faith but like job, Eustace did not loose his faith. Saint Eustace is the patron saint of hunter and firefighters. Engraving from 1499-1503.