Jacques de la Faille
Medium
Engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 19.9 × 13.2 cm (7 7/8 × 5 1/4 in.); sheet: 22.2 × 14.5 cm (8 3/4 × 5 3/4 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
267764
Art Historical Context
Created in 1580, Hendrick Goltzius’s engraving *Jacques de la Faille* captures the refined portrait tradition of the late Renaissance in the Northern Netherlands. Goltzius, already celebrated for his precise draftsmanship, used the engraving technique to render sitter’s features and costume with remarkable clarity and depth. The work’s modest plate size—roughly 20 by 13 centimeters—allowed the image to be printed on laid paper and circulated widely, turning a private likeness into a public statement of status. Engraving on laid paper was prized during this period for its ability to hold fine ...
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...