The Apollo Belvedere, plate 3 from Three Famous Antique Sculptures
c. 1592, printed c. 1617
Medium
Engraving in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 40.5 × 29.1 cm (16 × 11 1/2 in.); Plate: 41.6 × 29.8 cm (16 7/16 × 11 3/4 in.); Sheet: 49.2 × 36.5 cm (19 3/8 × 14 3/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
112043
Art Historical Context
Hendrick Goltzius, a leading Dutch Mannerist engraver the late 16th century, createdThe Apollo Belvedere, 3 from Three Famous Sculptures* around 1592, with prints produced posthumously circa 1617. This engraving captures the iconic ancient Roman marble statue of Apollo, unearthed in the Renaissance and revered as the epitome of classical male beauty and contrapposto pose. Goltzius' reproductive print brought the Belvedere's graceful anatomy and dynamic tension to Northern European audiences, who rarely saw such antiquities firsthand. Masterfully executed in black ink on cream laid paper (imag...
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...