Hendrick Goltzius

Hendrick Goltzius (b. 1558, d. 1617) was an engraver, print publisher, draftsman and painter. Born and raised in Germany, he moved to Haarlem to establish his own print publishing business in the late 1570’s. He trained engravers to work in his distinctive engraving style. In 1590, he traveled to Italy to study ancient sculpture and paintings of the High Renaissance masters in Rome, Florence, Venice, and Bologna. Upon his return to Haarlem, his works shifted to the more normative, classic forms of the Italian and Northern Renaissance that would continue through the rest of his career. ⁠

⁠In 1600, Goltzius left printmaking and went into painting- a result of his failing eyesight after years of working with the burin and possibly influenced by the theory of his friend and biographer Karel Van Mander, that painting was viewed as more prestigious than engraving. Influenced by Titian and Rubens, Goltzius continued to be recognized for his work in painting, best known for his masterpiece Danaë at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Photo: Hendrick Goltzius - Self-Portrait, c. 1593-1594 (Google Cultural Institute)