ong the
menaces of Death and Hell, and steadily advancing in spite of the
horrible apparitions. Others claim that the Knight represents Franz
von Sickingen, a turbulent hero of the Reformation; or Philip Ring,
the Nuremberg herald, who was confronted by the Devil on one of his
night-rides; or Duerer himself, beset by temptations and fears; or
Stephen Baumgaertner, the master's friend, whose portrait bears a
resemblance to the knight's face. Still another interpretation is
given in the romance of "Sintram and his Companions," which was
suggested by this engraving, as we are told by its author, La Motte
Fouque.

Kugler says: "I believe I do not exaggerate when I particularize this
print as the most important work which the fantastic spirit of German
art has ever produced." It was made in Duerer's blooming time, and the
plate is a wonderful specimen of delicate and exquisite execution. It
has frequently been copied, in many forms.

"The Little Crucifixion" is one of the most exquisitely finished of
Duerer's engravings on copper, and is a small round picture, about one
inch in diameter, which was made for an ornament on the pommel of the
Emperor's sword. It contains seven figures, full of clearness and
individuality, and engraved with marvellous skill. There are,
fortunately, several very beautiful copies of this print. Other
copper-plates of 1513 were "The Judgment of Paris," and the small
round "St. Jerome."

The famous Baumgaertner altar-piece was painted for the patrician
family of that name, as a votive picture, in thanksgiving for the safe
return of its knightly members from the Swiss campaigns. Nuremberg
unwillingly surrendered it to Maximilian of Bavaria, and it is now in
the Munich Pinakothek. It consists of a central picture of "The
Nativity," of no special merit, with two wings, the first of which
shows Stephen Baumgaertner, a meagre-faced and resolute knight, in the
character of St. George, while the other portrays the plain-mannered
and practical Lucas Baumgaertner, in the garb of St. Eustachius. These
excellent portrait-figures are clad in armor, and stand by the sides
of their horses.

The "Vision of St. Eustachius" was executed on copper-plate, and is
one of Duerer's most delicate and beautiful works. It shows the
huntsman Eustachius as a strong and earnest German mystic, kneeling
before the miraculous crucifix set in the stag's forehead, which has
appeared to convict him of his sins, and to stimulate