Hendrik Goltzius – Ceres, Goddess of the Harvest – Old Master Engraving
The Dutch printmaker and painter Hendrik Goltzius became the foremost Dutch engraver of the mannerist movement.
Goltzius marriage to a wealthy widow at the age of 21 allowed him to establish an independent business in Haarlem. In 1590 he traveled to Italy, where he fell under the spell of Michelangelo’s work. Many of his later works were exaggerated interpretations of the Italian master.
Goltzius is considered among the greatest master of the burin, the tool used to make copperplate engravings. He pioneered several engraving techniques such as the “dot and lozenge” where dots are inserted in the lozenge shaped spaces created by cross-hatching to add nuance to the shading.
The Goddess Ceres
Ceres is the ancient Roman goddess of agriculture, grain crops, feritility and motherhood.
The text below engraving is a passage from Virgil: Jam fastidita quercu jam glande remota, percipe frugifere munera grata Dee
Condition: Trimmed to edge of image as shown below. Paper has been doubled / backed with another sheet of old paper. Some small spots.
Dimensions: 25.5 X 18 cm – (10 x 7 inches)
