# Standing Officer Holding a Boar's Spear

**Hendrick Goltzius** (Dutch, 1558–1617)  
1586  
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, red chalk with traces of white opaque watercolor over black chalk, on paper; traces of transfer  
Sheet: 20.6 x 15.6 cm (8 1/8 x 6 1/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1994.195. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1994.195).

## About this work

This sheet is the only known preparatory drawing for an important group of engravings depicting military figures designed by Hendrick Goltzius between 1582 and 1600. Here Goltzius depicted a military officer with a confident stance and direct gaze as he staunchly holds a spear in his right hand and carries his sword on his hip. Details such as the fluttering scarf and the feather-trimmed hat enliven the image. The background portrays the deeds of the protagonist, including a scene with troops on the right, and two other officers, perhaps shown training with spears, on the left. Such imagery usually promoted militaristic values such as bravery in the period, as the Netherlands underwent continuous warfare with Spain. Goltzius's technique includes fine pen strokes and delicate brown washes combined with red chalk additions on the face and hands, which add a degree of naturalism and finish to the drawing.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Hendrick Goltzius painted this in 1586, aged 28. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Opaque watercolour.** Watercolour made opaque with white or chalk and laid in flat, even layers. Persian and Indian painters ground their colours from minerals, applied them with the finest brushes and burnished the finished page.
- **Chalk.** Natural black, red and white chalks. Used together on toned paper they could give the warmth of flesh with very little effort, and they were favourites for studies from life.
- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.

### [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: Drawing
- Culture: Netherlands, Haarlem, 16th century
- The artist was 28
- Real size: about 8 × 6 in (21 × 16 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 16th century
- Movement: [Dutch Golden Age](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/dutch-golden-age)
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/751.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/751/1920.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
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

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/standing-officer-holding-a-boar-s-spear-cma-157331).