Phaeton Asking for the Chariot
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 18.5 x 26 cm (7 5/16 x 10 1/4 in.), cut to platemark
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Estate of Leo Steinberg
Accession Number
2011.139.160
Art Historical Context
**Phaeton Asking for Chariot** (1590) is a captivating engraving from the workshop of Goltzius, the renowned Dutch Mannerist artist, faithfully reproducing his original design. The scene draws from Ovid's *Metamorphoses*, depicting the youthful Phaeton boldly petitioning his divine father, the sun god Apollo (Helios), to drive the chariot of the sun—a fateful request that would lead to cosmic disaster. Goltzi, a Haarlem master known as the "Dutch Michelangelo" for his virtuosic line work, infused Northern Mannerism into prints like this, blending Italianate drama with intricate Dutch precision...