Chilon, Spartan Philosopher and Councilor
Medium
Engraving; New Holl.'s second state of three
Dimensions
Sheet: 18 7/8 × 14 3/16 in. (47.9 × 36 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.6335
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *Chilon, Spartan Philosopher and Councilor (1596), a engraving by the Dutch master printmaker Harmen Jansz Muller, also known as Jan Muller. This portrait captures Chilon, one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece—a 6th-century BCE Spartan statesman and ephor renowned for his wisdom and laconic maxims, such as "Know thyself" inscribed at Delphi. Muller's image revives this classical figure during the Renaissance, a time when Northern European artists eagerly rediscovered Greco-Roman antiquity to inspire moral and philosophical reflection. Crafted as an engraving on a grand sheet measuri...
About the Artist
Jan Muller|Harmen Jansz. Muller · 1571–1628
**Jan Harmensz. Muller (1571–1628)** Born in Amsterdam in 1571, Jan Harmensz. Muller grew up immersed in the world of printmaking, as the son of the prominent engraver, publisher, and book printer Harmen Jansz. Muller. He studied under his father, mastering the engraving trade within the family business, The Gilded Compasses. Around 1589, Muller joined the workshop of Hendrick Goltzius in Haarlem...