Simeon, from The Twelve Sons of Jacob
c. 1589
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 16 × 11.3 cm (6 5/16 × 4 1/2 in.); sheet: 16.8 × 12 cm (6 5/8 × 4 3/4 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
268210
Art Historical Context
In the late 16th century, Dutch engraver Jacques de Gheyn II crafted this intricate image of *Simeon, from The Twelve Sons of Jacob* around 1589. As one of twelve engravings depicting the biblical patriarch Jacob's sons—each symbolized by attributes from Genesis 49—this work reflects the era's fascination with Old Testament narratives amid the Protestant Reformation. De Gheyn, a pupil of the renowned Hendrick Goltzius, worked in the Mannerist style, characterized by elongated figures, rich detail, and dramatic poses that bridge Renaissance precision with emerging Baroque expressiveness. Print...
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...