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Early Life and Training
Hendrick Goltzius, a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter, was born in January or February 1558. He was the leading Dutch engraver of the early Baroque period, or Northern Mannerism, lauded for his sophisticated technique and "exuberance" of his compositions. According to A. 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". Goltzius's family moved to Duisburg when he was 3 years old, and after studying painting on glass under his father, he learned engraving from the Dutch polymath Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert.
Artistic Career
In 1577, Goltzius moved with Coornhert to Haarlem in the Dutch Republic, where he remained based for the rest of his life. He was also employed by Philip Galle to engrave a set of prints of the history of Lucretia. Goltzius had a malformed right hand from a fire when he was a baby, which turned out to be especially well-suited to holding the burin. This unique physical characteristic allowed him to master a commanding swing of line, making his engravings highly distinctive. Hendrick 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.
Technique and Style
Goltzius 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. His command of the burin is said to rival Dürer, and he made engravings of Bartholomeus 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 few chiaroscuro woodcuts.
Public Collections and Legacy
Most major print rooms will have a group of Goltzius's many engravings, including the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. His legacy can be seen in the works of other artists, such as Jacques Bellange, who was also a master of Northern Mannerist printmaking. Goltzius's engravings and paintings continue to inspire art lovers and scholars alike, and his work can be found on WahooArt.com and in the Wikipedia article dedicated to his life and work.
Goltzius's contributions to the world of art are immeasurable, and his work continues to be celebrated and studied by art enthusiasts around the world. His unique style and mastery of engraving and painting have left a lasting legacy in the art world. |
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