Marriage for Worldly Love, from Three Kinds of Marriages
c. 1595
Medium
Engraving in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
23.4 × 15.9 cm (9 1/4 × 6 5/16 in.)
Classification
prints and drawing
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
269800
Art Historical Context
**Marriage for Worldly Love**, from Jan Saenredam's series *Three Kinds ofriages* (c. 1595), is a finely wrought engraving on cream laid paper, measuring23.4 × .9 cm. Created during the late Northern Renaissance in the Netherlands, this print exemplifies Saenredam's mastery as one of the era's premier engravers. Working in Haarlem, he often reproduced designs by contemporaries like Hendrick Goltzius, translating intricate compositions into precise lines on metal plates. The medium's durability allowed these works to circulate widely, making sophisticated imagery accessible beyond paintings. T...
About the Artist
Jan Saenredam · 1565–1607
Jan Pieterszoon Saenredam (c. 1565–1607) emerged from humble beginnings in the Dutch village of Assendelft, where he was orphaned young and raised by his uncle, the local bailiff Pieter de Jongh. Initially destined for basket weaving or farm work, Saenredam's precocious talent for embellishing texts with intricate designs caught attention, leading to an apprenticeship in cartography. By 1589, at a...