Dying Adonis
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
h 76.5cm × w 76.5cm
Classification
painting
Museum
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
About this artwork
Stervende Adonis. Het bijna naakte lichaam in het verkort gezien, uit het bloed dat uit de wond vloeit, groeit links een anemoon. Boven in de hemel Venus in haar triomfwagen getrokken door zwanen.
Art Historical Context
**Dying Adonis** (1609) by Hendrick Goltzius captures a poignant moment from classical mythology: the dying hunter Adonis, beloved of Venus, slain by a boar's tusk. Painted in oil on canvas in a striking square format (76. x 76.5 cm), this from the Rijksmuseum exemplifies Gzius's late-career shift from masterful printmaking to lush, painterly oils. A leading figure in Dutch Manner, Goltzius inspiration from Italian masters like Michelangelo and Correggio, infusing Northern art with dramatic Italianate flair during the early 17th century. The composition dramatically employs foreshortening to ...
About the Artist
Hendrick Goltzius · 1558–1617
Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617) was the most celebrated engraver of the Northern Renaissance and a pivotal figure in Dutch Mannerism. Born near the German-Dutch border, Goltzius transformed printmaking into a virtuoso art form through his revolutionary 'swelling line' technique, where the burin was manipulated to create lines of varying thickness that produced unprecedented tonal effects and three-d...