Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalen

Although the Master of the Drapery Studies has not yet been identified by name, it is clear from his surviving stained-glass windows and drawings that he was a critical figure in Upper Rhenish art during the last quarter of the fifteenth century and in the history of early German drawing in general. He was active in Strasbourg, where he also appears to have received his training. There are about one hundred and fifty extant drawings by this artist—the largest corpus by an early northern European master—and these, like his stained-glass windows, are highly distinctive in style. As is seen in this sheet, the use of a fine tipped pen for the outlines and hatching, as well as the gray wash modeling, are typical of his late style. Judging from the complete state of the composition and the spirited pen work, this drawing may be among the rare independent creations by the artist, rather than, as is more often the case, a reworking of another master's prototype.