St. Francis

From the museum

The French engraver Claude Mellan spent time in Rome, where he developed a unique engraving style that uses simplified linear patterns and swelled lines to create optical, almost abstract effects. He made this image St. Francis, one of several featuring saints in the wilderness, just after he returned to Paris. The engraver’s inventive patterns of lines cross at small angles, creating moiré effects, so that the surface seems to shimmer. Notice how the engraver portrayed the cloak of St. Francis with patches of parallel, swelled lines placed at different angles.

The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0