durer's radiant engraving of saint gerome is a hymn to the contemplative life showing his favorite saint in sacred study. subtlety of light and detailed depiction of the interior all recall van eyck's art. for his figure of brooding melancholy durer may have used a michelangelo sibyl as his model. melancholy is the dark side of genius. the discarded tools-- a plane and saw, instruments, and inkwell-- all convey the frustrated artist, his creativity blocked. albrecht durer was a northern genius who succeeded in assimilating the lessons of the south. the last and boldest statement of northern religious art can be found in the isenheim altarpiece-- the work of a german master. this massive altar in three stages is by the artist we know as matthias grunewald. in many ways, it is the ultimate painting in christian art. never again would a painter feel quite so free to express the mysteries of christian faith ranging from agony to ecstasy. this altarpiece was painted around 1515 for an antonite monastery which specialized in the care of skin diseases. the crucifixion is shown with unprecedente