Saint Andrewprobably 1589
Saint Andrew, his lined face resting on one hand and a book tucked under his arm, gazes out of the frame with a melancholy, inward look, set against a background of rugged rocks. More about this work
About this work
Saint Andrew, his lined face resting on one hand and a book tucked under his arm, gazes out of the frame with a melancholy, inward look, set against a background of rugged rocks. Goltzius engraved the plate around 1589 as part of a series of the apostles, each a half-length figure with a Latin inscription below. The swelling and tapering lines, which model form and texture without any tone or wash, show why he was considered the most brilliant engraver of his generation.
Written by Ochre Editions.
What you’re looking at
The image shows an elderly man seated from the waist up. He is angled slightly away from the viewer, resting his head on one hand and leaning on the other arm. The man has a deeply lined face, a large beard, curly hair, and appears focused on something outside the frame. He wears flowing garments and a book is under his arm. In the background, there are rugged, mountainous rock formations. Ornate text frames the image at the bottom.
Description from the National Gallery of Art.
How it was made
- Engraving
- Lines cut directly into a metal plate with a steel burin, which makes them swell and taper. It took years to master, and for centuries it was how paintings travelled as pictures.
Hendrick Goltzius
Dutch, 1558–1617 · Born in Mühlbracht; died in Haarlem.
Goltzius was the outstanding Dutch engraver of his generation, despite a childhood injury that crippled his right hand. In Haarlem he joined Karel van Mander and Cornelis van Haarlem in promoting the muscular Mannerist style of Bartholomeus Spranger, engraving swelling, tapering lines of great virtuosity. A journey to Italy in 1590–91 turned him towards classical sculpture, as in his engravings of the Apollo Belvedere, and around 1600 he gave up engraving for painting.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The National Gallery of Art has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1943.3.9401
- Credit
- Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
- Type
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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