Pikeman, from Officers and Soldiers of the Bodyguard of Emperor Rudolph II
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 21.5 × 15.8 cm (8 1/2 × 6 1/4 in.); sheet: 38.3 × 28.5 cm (15 1/8 × 11 1/4 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
267980
Art Historical Context
Step into the opulent world of the Holy Roman Empire with *Pikeman, from and Soldiers of the Body of Emperor Rudolph II*1587), an exquisite engraving by Dutch artist Jacques de Ghe II. Created during the late Renaissance, this print captures a stoic pikeman from the elite bodyguard of Emperor Rudolph II, the eccentric Habsburg ruler and avid art patron whose Prague court was a magnet for Northern European talents like de Gheyn. Part of a rare series documenting the emperor's imperial guards, it offers a vivid snapshot of 16th-century military splendor amid the religious wars and political intr...
About the Artist
Jacques de Gheyn, II · 1565–1629
Jacques de Gheyn II (1565–1629) was born in Antwerp into an artistic family, receiving his earliest instruction from his father, Jacob de Gheyn I, a skilled glass painter, engraver, and draftsman. In 1585, the young de Gheyn moved to Haarlem, where he spent five formative years studying under Hendrik Goltzius, one of the most celebrated engravers of the Northern Renaissance. This apprenticeship pr...