Overshadowed in the past by his older contemporary Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Lucas van Leyden (c1489-1533) became the first internationally known painter-engraver to emerge in the Netherlands. This good impression shows a characteristic delicacy of line achieved with a shallower rather than deeper burin stroke. It comes from a series of fourteen engravings illustrating 'Christ and the Apostles' and would have provided pious reflection while being kept in an album.

Easily mistaken for St Matthew, who also carries the attribute of a halberd, St Mathias was chosen as the replacement for Judas Iscariot. Various legends provide accounts of his subsequent martyrdom, the most familiar being by stoning and beheading with an axe.