Saint Mary Magdalen Penitent
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 11 1/2 x 7 13/16 in. (29.2 x 19.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Edwin De T. Bechtel, 1947
Accession Number
47.124.1
Tags
About this artwork
Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617), the leading figure of Northern Mannerist engraving, created this virtuosic print in 1585 depicting the penitent Mary Magdalene. Working in Haarlem, Goltzius revolutionized printmaking through his mastery of the burin and development of the swelling line technique that created unprecedented tonal variety. This engraving reflects the influence of Bartholomeus Spranger, court painter to Rudolf II, whose work Goltzius encountered in 1583. The composition shows Mary Mag...
About the Artist
Hendrick Goltzius · 1558–1617
Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617) was the most celebrated engraver of the Northern Renaissance and a pivotal figure in Dutch Mannerism. Born near the German-Dutch border, Goltzius transformed printmaking into a virtuoso art form through his revolutionary 'swelling line' technique, where the burin was manipulated to create lines of varying thickness that produced unprecedented tonal effects and three-d...