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Hendrick Goltzius | |
|---|---|
 Self-portrait (c. 1593–94) | |
| Born | Hendrick Goltz January/February 1558 |
| Died | (1617-01-01)1 January 1617 (aged 58–59) |
| Occupation(s) | Printmaker,draftsman,painter |
| Known for | Use of the burin tool for engraving |
| Style | Northern Mannerism |
Hendrick[a] Goltzius (German:[ˈhɛndʁɪkˈɡɔltsi̯ʊs],Dutch:[ˈɦɛndrɪkˈxɔltsijʏs]; bornGoltz; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutchprintmaker,draftsman, andpainter. He was the leading Dutchengraver of the earlyBaroque period, orNorthern Mannerism, lauded for his sophisticated technique, technical mastership and "exuberance" of his compositions. According toA. Hyatt Mayor, Goltzius "was the last professional engraver who drew with the authority of a good painter and the last who invented many pictures for others to copy".[1] In the middle of his life he also began to produce paintings.
Goltzius was born nearViersen inBracht or Millebrecht, a village then in theDuchy of Julich, now in the municipalityBrüggen inNorth Rhine-Westphalia. His family moved toDuisburg when he was 3 years old. After studying painting on glass for some years under his father, he learned engraving from the Dutch polymathDirck Volckertszoon Coornhert, who then lived inCleves. In 1577 he moved with Coornhert toHaarlem in theDutch Republic, where he remained based for the rest of his life. In the same town, he was also employed byPhilip Galle to engrave a set of prints of the history ofLucretia.
Goltzius had a malformed right hand from a fire when he was a baby (his drawing of it is at right), which turned out to be especially well-suited to holding theburin; "by being forced to draw with the large muscles of his arm and shoulder, he mastered a commanding swing of the line".[4]
In the 1580s, Goltzius with his friendsvan Mander and the painterCornelis van Haarlem, founded an art academy in Haarlem in emulation of those in France and Bologna, where the human figure could be studied from life and artists could meet to discuss both practice and aesthetics.[5]
At the age of 21, Goltzius married a widow eight or nine years his senior. Her money enabled him to establish an independent business at Haarlem, but the marriage itself was unhappy. Feeling that the unpleasant atmosphere at home had affected his health, he found it advisable in 1590 to make a tour throughGermany toItaly, where he acquired an intense admiration for the works ofMichelangelo. He returned to Haarlem in August 1591, considerably improved in health, and worked there until his death.[6]
His portraits, though mostly miniatures, are masterpieces of their kind, both on account of their exquisite finish and as fine studies of individual characters. Of his larger heads, his life-size self-portrait is probably the most striking example.[6]
Goltzius brought to an unprecedented level the use of the "swelling line", where the burin is manipulated to make lines thicker or thinner to create a tonal effect from a distance. He also was a pioneer of the "dot and lozenge" technique, where dots are placed in the middle of lozenge-shaped spaces created by cross-hatching to further refine tonal shading.
Hollstein credits 388 prints to him, with a further 574 by other printmakers after his designs.
In his command of the burin, Goltzius is said to rivalDürer.[6] He made engravings ofBartholomeus Spranger's paintings, thus increasing the fame of the latter – and his own. Goltzius began painting at the age of forty-two; some of his paintings can be found in Vienna. He also executed a fewchiaroscuro woodcuts. He was the stepfather of the engraverJacob Matham. He died, aged 58, in Haarlem.
Most majorprint rooms will have a group of Goltzius's many engravings.
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![Divine Mother of God, and the faithful care of Joseph. All [things] feed who feeds all, 1589, pen and black ink on laid paper](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aHendrick_Goltzius_(1558-1617)_Mother_of_God_in_the_care_of_Joseph.jpg)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Goltzius, Hendrik".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 227.
