The Dragon Devouring the Companions of Cadmus
Medium
Engraving of black in on Ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 24 × 31.7 cm (9 1/2 × 12 1/2 in.); Plate: 25.1 × 32.1 cm (9 15/16 × 12 11/16 in.); Sheet: 30.2 × 37.3 cm (11 15/16 × 14 11/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
102164
Art Historical Context
In Hendrick Goltzius's *The Dragon Devouring the Companions of Cadmus* (1588), the Dutch master's engraving vividly captures a dramatic moment from Greek mythology. Cadmus, the legendary founder of Thebes, sent his companions to fetch water from a sacred spring guarded by a fearsome dragon, which devoured them in this chaotic scene. Goltzius, a leading figure in late 16th-century Northern Mannerism, drew from classical sources to evoke the heroism and peril of ancient tales, blending Italian influences with his native precision. Rendered in black ink on luxurious ivory laid paper, this engrav...
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...