Description

These twelve engravings are vertically oriented scenes with multiple figures engaged in a variety of activities, set in landscapes and cityscapes. Many of the individuals gesture broadly, their faces contorted in exaggerated expressions that in some instances border on caricature. The similar size of each page, reappearance of certain figures, and inclusion of consecutive numbers in the lower corners confirm that this is a narrative series. Each print consists entirely of black ink on a white page. In this format, all diversity in tone and texture results from variation in line. Through such variations, the artist achieves dramatic effects, such as fire and a starry sky, without the use of color.

Context and Analysis

Hendrick Goltzius created this series between 1596 and 1598. It depicts the events in Christian belief leading up to the Resurrection of Jesus, called the Passion. The episodes portrayed include the Last Supper, the Betrayal of Jesus, and the Crucifixion. A resident of the Dutch city of Haarlem from 1577, Goltzius was among the most renowned European printmakers of his day. He traveled to Italy in 1590, and upon his return home the following year he created many of his most important works. These reveal a high level of technical skill as well as a keen self-awareness of his place in the history of printmaking. For his Passion series, Goltzius mimicked stylistic and compositional elements of his eminent predecessors Albrecht Dürer, who engraved the subject three times between 1507 and 1512, and Lucas van Leyden, who produced Passion series in 1509 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 40.41.5) and 1520–21 (Rijksmuseum, RP-P-OB-1722). As a result, Goltzius’s prints likely appeared deliberately old-fashioned at the time of their creation.

The intended audience for these works was sophisticated collectors and print connoisseurs, such as Cardinal Federico Borromeo (1564–1631), archbishop of Milan. Goltzius dedicated this series to the cardinal, who at this time was the most prominent Italian patron of Northern European artists. Given their references to earlier works, these prints functioned not only as an aid for religious contemplation, but also as a test of art lovers’ skills as connoisseurs. Looking at these prints, viewers could compare them to precedents and in turn admire Goltzius’s ability to match, and improve upon, earlier models. Such comparisons would have extended to contemporary prints as well, for at this time the artists Jacques de Gheyn and Karel van Mander were collaborating on their own Passion series (Rijksmuseum, SK-A-4255).

Connections

Another work by Goltzius in the Currier’s collection is a painting of 1615 depicting Helen of Troy (Currier, 2007.5 ). Goltzius was already a highly successful printmaker when he began painting in 1600, at the age of forty-two, shortly after creating his Passion series. Looking at the details of Helen of Troy, such as her sumptuous headdress, elongated fingers, and sculptural drapery, one can see that in his painting Goltzius maintained the skilled draftsmanship celebrated in his prints. He also employed the same “HG” monogram in his painting that he used in the Passion series. While Goltzius had a chameleon-like ability to mimic other artists’ styles of working, he never failed to assert emphatically his own role as creator.

Written by Elizabeth A. Nogrady

Bibliography

Kok, Jan Piet Filedt. “Hendrik Goltzius: Engraver, Designer, and Publisher, 1582–1600.” Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 42–43 (1993): 159–218.

Leeflang, Huigen, and others. Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617): Drawings, Prints and Paintings. Exh. cat. Zwolle: Waanders; Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum; New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art; Toledo: Toledo Museum of Art, 2003.

Riggs, Timothy, and Larry Silver. Graven Images: The Rise of Professional Printmakers in Antwerp and Haarlem, 1540–1640. Evanston, IL: Mary and Leigh Block Gallery, Northwestern University, distributed by Northwestern University Press, 1993.