Portrait of Jan van Leiden, a Dutchman and leader of the Münster Anabaptists
Medium
Engraving; New Hollstein’s fourth state of five
Dimensions
Sheet: 12 1/2 × 9 3/16 in. (31.8 × 23.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.910
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking engraving, *Portrait of Jan van Leiden a Dutchman and leader the Münster Anabists*, captures the infamous 16th-century radical preacher Jan Beuckelszoon (also known as John of Leiden Dated around 1615 and attributed to engravers Heinrich Aldegrever, Jan Muller, or Frans Carese, it represents the fourth state of five in New Hollstein’s catalog—a testament to the print’s enduring popularity through multiple editions. Measuring 12½ × 9⅛ inches, the sheet features a detailed portrait with a prominent coat of arms, highlighting the subject’s self-proclaimed royal status during the tum...
About the Artist
Heinrich Aldegrever|Jan Muller|Frans Carelse · 1502–1561
Heinrich Aldegrever, born in 1502 in Paderborn, Westphalia, to parents Herman and Katherine Trippenmeker—a family of clog-makers known by the dialect name Trippenmecker—emerged as a multifaceted artist in the German Renaissance. His early training remains undocumented, though he likely apprenticed in a Soest goldsmith's workshop after relocating there around 1525, where he joined the painters' gui...