Matthijs Cock (Antwerp circa 1509-1548)

One of thirteen drawings executed by Matthijs Cock in circa 1538-44, which were etched after his death by his brother Hieronymus (1518-1570) and published in 1558 as the Landscapes with Biblical and Mythological Scenes (Hollstein 8-21). Only three drawings from the series are known: the present work, the Mountainous Landscape in the Fondation Custodia, Paris (D'Haene, op. cit., no. B1) and the Landscape with the Flight into Egypt, formerly in the Lugt collection but lost during the Second World War (D'Haene, op. cit., no. A11). The subject of the present drawing, showing Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child in the form of an orb, was altered in Hieronymus's print from the sacred to the profane: the saint’s figure is replaced by those of the Greek mythological figures Hero and Leander (Hollstein 16).