Christ on the Cold Stone with Two Angels
1603
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 54.1 × 35.1 cm (21 5/16 × 13 7/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
268733
Art Historical Context
In the hallowed tradition of Northern European religious art, Jacob Matham's *Christ on the Cold Stone with Angels* (1603) captures a poignant moment of Christ's suffering. The Dutch engraver, a key figure in the Haarlem school and pupil of Hendrick Goltzi, depicts the Man of Sorrows seated on a cold stone slabsymbolizing the tomb or deposition—with two sorrowful angels attending him. Created amid the Counter-Reformation's fervor, this image invited devotional contemplation, blending pathos with Mannerist elegance in elongated forms and intricate details. Masterfully executed as an engraving ...
About the Artist
Jacob Matham · 1571–1631
**Jacob Matham: Master Engraver of Haarlem** Jacob Matham was born on October 15, 1571, in Haarlem, in the Northern Netherlands, into a burgeoning artistic milieu. Following his father's early death, his mother married the renowned painter and engraver Hendrick Goltzius in 1579, who adopted the young Jacob and trained him rigorously in the workshop as his stepson and pupil. Matham's first signed ...