Drift
Medium
pen
Dimensions
62; 104
About this artwork
Compleet: acht ontwerpen aanwezig in RPK.
Art Historical Context
**Drift** (1551) is a delicate pen drawing by Heinrich Aldegver, a prominent German artist of the Northern Renaissance. Measuring just 104 mm high by 62 mm wide, intimate work exemplifies the precision of the "Little Masters," a group of engravers known for their virtuoso small-scale designs. Aldegrever, active in Soest, Westphalia, blended Gothic traditions with emerging Renaissance humanism, often creating intricate patterns for prints, jewelry, and decorative arts. Created with pen on paper, *Drift* forms part of a complete set of eight designs preserved in the Rijksprentenkabinet (RPK), t...
About the Artist
Heinrich Aldegrever · 1502–1561
Heinrich Aldegrever, born in 1502 in Paderborn, Westphalia, to parents Herman and Katherine Trippenmeker—a family of clog-makers known by the dialect name Trippenmecker—emerged as a multifaceted artist in the German Renaissance. His early training remains undocumented, though he likely apprenticed in a Soest goldsmith's workshop after relocating there around 1525, where he joined the painters' gui...