c.1599

This work was long considered to represent the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt, but this is contradicted by the presence of John the Baptist, who is represented here as a young boy embracing the Christ Child. The Baptist is accompanied by his attribute, a lamb with a reed cross in the foreground, and a large angel in a brocaded garment (called a dalmatic) to the left of the Virgin. In some aspects, the painting is grounded in German artistic tradition, especially in the landscape, the figure of Joseph and the hovering angels. But the painting is also rife with Venetian influences, particularly the large angels floating in the sky. These Italian touches, new in Elsheimer’s work, suggest he painted this in Venice.

• Material: Oil on copper
• Size: 37.5 x 24.3 cm
• Staatliche Museen, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

c.1603-04

One of the earliest Christian martyrs, Stephen was sentenced to death by the high priest and elders of Jerusalem. He delivered a provocative sermon, which caused such turmoil that he was dragged out of the city and stoned to death. Seen here being pelted with stones, Stephen is bleeding from his forehead and has collapsed. He gazes upward at the angel, who points towards God and Christ, bathed in a heavenly light. The splendid figure on horseback wearing a turban is presumably Saul, later Saint Paul, who is said to have attended the execution. The wealth of invention and the dynamism of the composition with its many figures represents a breakthrough for Elsheimer, and is said to be his debut as a true Baroque painter.

• Material: Oil on silvered copper
• Size: 34.7 x 28.6 cm
• National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

c.1603-05

The Frankfurt Tabernacle relates to a complex story about the rediscovery of the cross on which Christ was crucified by Helena, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, and its subsequent return to Jerusalem. Although the original patron was not known, it is an unusual subject, and almost certainly made on commission. The central panel of the altarpiece shown here is the culmination of Elsheimer’s religious works. It combines two themes: the Exaltation or Worship of the Cross, traditionally celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church on 14 September, and the Coronation of the Virgin in heaven. Myriad saints and figures from the Old and New Testaments participate in the glorification of the cross and witness the coronation.

The Frankfurt Tabernacle not only tells a complex story, the work itself has a complex and fascinating history.

• Material: Seven oils on coppers
• Size: From 14.7 x 16 cm to 48.5 x 35 cm
• Städel and Städelscher Museums-Verein, Frankfurt am Main

This is a preliminary drawing for one of the coppers on the lower tier of the Frankfurt Tabernacle, The Digging for the Cross. Executed in pen and wash, it is the only surviving study for a painting that has the same dimensions as the final work. Some of the contours and parts of the inner modelling have been perforated (pounced), a technique used to transfer a design from a drawing onto another surface. Details show that Elsheimer made small corrections to his original design while creating the final painting.

• Material: Pen and wash on paper
• Size: 15.6 x 15.5 cm
• Graphische Sammlung im Städelschen Kuntinstitut, Frankfurt am Main

c.1605

This work is one of eight coppers, identical in format, belonging to a series that once consisted of ten or more pieces. The tiny paintings probably originally decorated a valuable piece of furniture, into which they were inserted or inlaid, although we do not know exactly how. They are remarkable for the monumental effect of the figures and the lush and varied landscapes that Elsheimer incorporated on such a small scale. Here, Saint John the Baptist carries his attribute, a little lamb. He stands in front of a clearing in the woods populated with a deer and storks, which are painted on a miniature scale, yet so accurately that they are clearly recognisable at the edge of a stretch of water.

• Material: Oil on silvered copper
• Size: 9 x 7 cm
• Petworth House, The Egremont Collection (The National Trust)

c.1606

The unusual subject of this painting derives from a Spanish picaresque novel entitled Guzmán de Alfarache, by Mateo Alemán, which was originally published in 1599 and appeared in an Italian translation in 1606. It tells of Jupiter’s anger at the people on Earth, whom he believed were irresponsible and self-indulgent, because they worshipped Contento – the god of contentment and happiness – and neglected the other gods. During a festival, Jupiter commanded Mercury to abduct Contento and replace him with his twin brother, Discontento. In this scene, Mercury flies down from the heavens to remove Contento, while the people in the foreground try to hold him back. The festival of sports and games continues uninterrupted in the background. Elsheimer was the first artist to depict the subject, which must have presented a considerable challenge. Not only was the story extremely complex, but there were no visual precedents on which Elsheimer could base his composition.

• Material: Oil on copper
• Size: 30.1 x 42 cm
• National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

c.1606

The title of this work derives from the inscription on an engraving made after it by Hendrick Goudt in 1613. The painting shows a view from a wooded hill overlooking the Roman countryside at sunrise. Although now purely a landscape, it was begun as a depiction of a story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses: the lovers Acis and Galatea hiding at the edge of a wood during their flight from the one-eyed giant Polyphemus. Elsheimer painted out a group of figures he had already finished in the left foreground, and covered them with a dark knot of trees. The figure in bottom left was added by another hand, quite possibly Hendrick Goudt. As far as we know, this is the only time Elsheimer abandoned his original idea for the subject of a work. The picture, which was probably for some time in the Netherlands and was also known there through Goudt’s print, was an important catalyst for the development of Dutch landscape painting.

• Material: Oil on copper
• Size: 17 x 22.5 cm
• Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Brunswick

c.1606

This tiny landscape painting actually represents the story related in the Apocrypha of Tobias, who journeyed from Niniveh to Media with his guardian, the archangel Raphael, and his little dog. While washing on the shores of the River Tigris, Tobias was attacked by a great fish. On the angel’s instructions, Tobias pulled the fish onto land by its fins, killed it and removed its heart, liver and gall. He later used these fish guts to exorcise the demon that had cursed his wife Sarah and to restore his blind father’s sight. This painting, with its poetic depiction of Tobias’ journey and atmospheric landscape, caused a stir in Rome. It became famous through the many copies and prints reproducing it. The painting is generally called the ‘small Tobias’ to distinguish it from a larger version Elsheimer painted several years later, today only known from a contemporary copy.

• Material: Oil on copper
• Size: 12.4 x 19.2 cm
• Historisches Museum, Frankfurt am Main

c.1608

Philemon and Baucis, an old couple living in Phrygia, gave a warm welcome to two travellers who had been turned away from other houses. Although far from wealthy, Philemon and Baucis offered to kill their only goose for the strangers. In fact, the travellers were the gods Jupiter and Mercury in disguise, who showed their gratitude by turning the simple hut into a temple and by granting the old couple their wish to live out their final days as priests there. Elsheimer set the scene at night, in a windowless room lit by two oil lamps. The two weary travellers are seated expectantly at a simple table. Baucis prepares bedding for the guests, while Philemon, illuminated by the candle he holds, appears from a back room carrying food. Only the remarkable light that envelops Jupiter suggests his real identity. Baucis looks at him as if transfixed, suddenly realising that he might be more than meets the eye.

• Material: Oil on copper
• Size: 16.9 x 22.4 cm
• Staatliche Kunstammlungen, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

c.1609

This extraordinarily poetic landscape dominates the actual subject of the painting, the Holy Family's flight into Egypt. Despite the darkness of the night, this landscape exudes a sense of peace and calm, an auspicious sign that God is watching over the family. The scene is illuminated by three sources of light, which not only clarify the composition, but have a symbolic meaning. Joseph carries only a small torch that barely illuminates the face of the child and symbolises Christ's humility. The full moon in the distance, which reflects in the calm water below, and the countless stars in the sky testify to the presence of God. In the left foreground, shepherds tend to a campfire, which sends sparks up into the air. This group probably refers to the shepherds in the field who received the nocturnal annunciation of the birth of Jesus.

This is the first moonlit nocturnal scene in the history of European painting, and the first representation of the Milky Way. In Rome, Elsheimer was in contact with astronomers who were making rapid advances in their knowledge of the stars. It has recently been discovered that Elsheimer's representation was so accurate, that the position of the moon in relation to the heavens can be dated to the month - June 1609.

• Material: Oil on copper
• Size: 31 x 41 cm
• Bayersiche Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek, Munich