This object depicts the Sudarium of St. Veronica, which was originally a highly religious subject in the 13th century. The subject originates from the biblical story of Veronica’s act of compassion to Christ on her way to Calvary. When she wiped his face with her veil, his image was miraculously imprinted on it . The Sudarium became a powerful symbol of the church in the 13th century, due to the influence of Pope Innocent III, who declared that worship of it would grant the individual forty fewer days in purgatory. By the 16th century, the reverence of the Sudarium had diminished, due to suspicions over its authenticity. Depictions of it ceased to have such a strong religious affiliation. Mellan’s representation of the Sudarium can be said to belong to the realm of art rather than religion, showing that even objects with religious themes undergo the process of secularisation. While the subject has a strongly religious connection, the significance of Mellan’s Sudarium primarily lies in his exceptional skill and craftsmanship in the engraving, formed from a single line spiralling out from Jesus’s nose, the image formed by the different thickness of the swelling line.

The influence of religion on Mellan’s artwork can also be seen in the symbolic meanings behind his work. Notably, the Latin inscription “Formatur Unicus Una” translated as “the unique one made by one” points to three unique aspects of the image. Firstly, the immaculate conception of Jesus; secondly, the imprint of Jesus’s likeliness on the Sudarium; and thirdly, the method of engraving Mellan used, which shows off Mellan’s unique skill and ability. Mellan also invokes the imagery of Christ through religiously significant symbols - the crown of thorns upon his head representative of the Passion of Christ, and the halo around his head marking his identity as a holy figure. The halo is also quartered in a cross. However, unlike traditional representations of the cross facing upwards, Mellan’s work features the cross as an “x”, perhaps as an indicator of the separation of the artwork from the religious sphere.

• Fontana, B., 2010. A Gift of Angels: The Art of Mission San Kavier Del Bac. Tuscon, Arizona: University of Arizona Press.
• Raissis, P., 2014. Prints & drawings : Europe 1500-1900. [online] Sydney: Sydney Art Gallery of New South Wales. Available at: <http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/340.1997/?/> [Accessed 3 February 2016].