Everything about Hendrik Goltzius totally explained
Hendrik Goltzius (
1558 -
January 1,
1617),
Dutch printmaker,
draftsman, and
painter, was born at Millebrecht, in the
duchy of Julich. He was the leading Dutch
engraver of the early Baroque, with a notably brilliant and innovative technique,
After studying painting on glass for some years under his father, he was taught the use of the
burin by Dirk Volkertszoon Coornhert, a Dutch engraver of mediocre attainment, whom he soon surpassed, but who retained his services for his own advantage. He was also employed by
Philip Galle to engrave a set of prints of the history of
Lucretia.
At the age of 21 he married a widow somewhat advanced in years, whose money enabled him to establish at
Haarlem an independent business; but his unpleasant relations with her so affected his health that he found it advisable in 1590 to make a tour through
Germany to
Italy, where he acquired an intense admiration for the works of
Michelangelo, which led him to surpass that master in the grotesqueness and extravagance of his designs. He returned to Haarlem considerably improved in health, and laboured there at his art till his death.
Goltzius ought not to be judged chiefly by the works he valued most, his eccentric imitations of Michelangelo. His portraits, though mostly miniatures, are masterpieces of their kind, both on account of their exquisite finish, and as fine studies of individual character. Of his larger heads, the life-size portrait of himself is probably the most striking example. His masterpieces, so called from their being attempts to imitate the style of the old masters, have perhaps been overpraised.
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. He also was a pioneer of "dot and lozenge" technique, where dots are placed in the middle of lozenze shaped spaces created by cross-hatching to further refine tonal shading.
Hollstein credits 388 prints to him, with a further 574 by other printmakers after his designs.
In his command of the burin Goltzius isn't surpassed even by
Dürer; but his technical skill isn't equally aided by higher artistic qualities. Even, however, his eccentricities and extravagances are greatly counterbalanced by the beauty and freedom of his execution. 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, but none of his works in this branch of art--some of which are in the imperial collection at Vienna--display any special excellences. He also executed a few pieces in
chiaroscuro.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hendrik Goltzius'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://hendrik_goltzius.totallyexplained.com">Hendrik Goltzius Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
