# Saint Andrew

**Hendrick Goltzius** (Dutch, 1558–1617)  
probably 1589  
engraving

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1943.3.9401. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.11916.html).

## 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._

Hendrick Goltzius made this (probably 1589), aged 31. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### 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](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/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._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- The artist was 31
- Century: 16th century
- Subjects: Landscape, Book, Portrait, Man, Writing
- Colour: white
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1358.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1358/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/saint-andrew-nga-11916).