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About this artwork

pen in bruin, penseel in grijs

Art Historical Context

This delicate pen drawing by Jacques de Gheyn II captures the refined draftsmanship of a leading Dutch artist active during the late Renaissance and early Dutch Golden Age. Created between 1596 and 1606, the work exemplifies de Gheyn’s transition from the intricate, Mannerist style of his teacher Hendrik Goltzius toward a more naturalistic approach. Though its exact subject remains unspecified, the drawing’s modest scale—roughly 11 by 8 inches—suggests it may have served as a study or finished work intended for a collector’s cabinet. Executed in brown ink with gray wash, the piece highlights ...