Plate 25: Two Wild Goats
c.1575/1590s
Medium
watercolor and gold paint on parchment
Dimensions
page size (approximate): 14.3 x 18.4 cm (5 5/8 x 7 1/4 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Lessing J. Rosenwald
Accession Number
1987.20.6.26
Art Historical Context
In the late 16th century, artist Joris Hoefagel crafted *Plate 25: Two Goats*, a masterful from around 1575 to the 1590s. Renowned for his precise natural history illustrations, Hoefn served as court artist to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, scientific observation with artistic virtuosity. This work, likely part of a series documenting quadrupeds, captures two agile wild goats in dynamic poses against a subtle ground, their fur, horns, and musculature rendered with extraordinary detail. Executed in watercolor and gold paint on parchment—a luxurious medium evoking medieval illuminated manuscript...
About the Artist
Joris Hoefnagel · 1542–1600
Joris Hoefnagel, also known as Georg Hoefnagel, was born in 1542 in Antwerp to Jacob Hoefnagel, a prosperous diamond and luxury goods dealer, and Elisabeth Vezelaer, daughter of the Antwerp mint master. Intended for the family trade, he received a humanistic education, mastering languages, poetry, and music, but pursued art as a self-taught draftsman and miniaturist, receiving his first lessons fr...