Who painted Design for a Beaker and a Pax?

Design for a Beaker and a Pax was painted by Master of St. Sebastian in 1480.

Where can I see Design for a Beaker and a Pax?

Design for a Beaker and a Pax is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Design for a Beaker and a Pax?

Design for a Beaker and a Pax is associated with Renaissance.

Artwork

Design for a Beaker and a Pax

Master of St. Sebastian , 1480

Design for a Beaker and a Pax is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Master of St. Sebastian. It dates from 1480 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Design for a Beaker and a Pax is an early printed work attributed to the anonymous Master of St. Sebastian, dating from around 1480. Executed as an engraving on laid paper, the piece presents two distinct scenes framed within an ornamental border that is supported by fantastical beasts on either side.

Subject & Meaning

The upper register depicts a gathering of figures beneath a vaulted arch, including a regal figure and a man bearing a cross, suggesting a ceremonial or liturgical context. The lower register shows a crowned woman cradling an infant, a motif often associated with the Virgin and Child, though the precise symbolic intent remains uncertain without further documentation.

Technique & Style

Lines were incised directly into a copper plate, then transferred to the paper through a printing press, producing a monochrome image defined by fine hatching and cross‑hatching. The composition combines Gothic ornamental framing with a nascent naturalism in the figures, characteristic of late‑15th‑century Northern European engraving.

History & Provenance

The work is catalogued as a design for a liturgical vessel—a beaker—and a pax, a small object used in the Mass. Its attribution to the Master of St. Sebastian places it within the workshop that produced devotional prints for ecclesiastical patrons in the Low Countries during the late medieval period.