Grietgen Jansdochter, wife of the artist

Art Historical Context

In the intimate world of 16th-century Dutch printmaking, Hendrick Goltus crafted this delicate engraving *Grietgen Jansdo, wife of the artist in 1580, the likeness of his newlywed spouse just two years after their marriage. Goltus, a Haarlem-based master engraver and a pivotal figure in Northern Mannerism, was renowned for his virtuosic command of the burin—a sharp tool that incised intricate lines into copper plates. This tiny portrait, measuring a mere 4.2 × 3.1 cm, exemplifies his ability to render fine details like soft facial features and subtle textures on an almost jewel-like scale, inv...

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...