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Source Description
According to Christian legend, a giant helped travelers ford a river. He was surprised one evening when a little child appeared, asking to be transported to the opposite side of the river. The giant was perplexed by the tremendous weight of this small child, expressed here in his strained leg muscles. The child explained that he was carrying the sins of the world on his shoulders (hence the globe that the child holds in his left hand). Here the giant responds with ecstatic pleasure to learning that his passager is Christ. The giant became known as Christopher, which means "Christ-bearer."
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
13617
label
St. Christopher and the Christ Child
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
13617
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
St. Christopher and the Christ Child
description
According to Christian legend, a giant helped travelers ford a river. He was surprised one evening when a little child appeared, asking to be transported to the opposite side of the river. The giant was perplexed by the tremendous weight of this small child, expressed here in his strained leg muscles. The child explained that he was carrying the sins of the world on his shoulders (hence the globe that the child holds in his left hand). Here the giant responds with ecstatic pleasure to learning that his passager is Christ. The giant became known as Christopher, which means "Christ-bearer."
provenance
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [1881 catalogue: no. 75; 1897 catalogue: no. 377, as Titan]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
late 16th century (late Renaissance)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
oil paintings (visual works)
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
211
height
115.5
dimensionsRaw
Painted surface H: 83 1/16 x W: 45 1/2 in. (211 x 115.5 cm); Framed H: 101 5/8 × W: 64 × D: 4 3/4 in. (258.13 × 162.56 × 12.07 cm)
Source extras
med
oil on canvas
creator_ids
6200
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
209a6f938c46d910