The Emperor Rudolph II
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 33.5 × 25 cm (13 1/4 × 9 7/8 in.)
Classification
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
268314
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings collection, where you'll find *The Emperor Rudolph II* (1603), a masterful engraving by Flemish artist Aegidius Sadeler. Sadeler, a prominent member of the celebrated Sadeler family of engravers, crafted this portrait during his time at the imperial court in Prague. Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II (2–1612), depicted here in regal attire, was a passionate patron of the arts, amassing one of Europe's greatest collections of paintings, sculptures, and scientific curiosities. Engraved on luxurious ivory laid paper—a smooth, high-quality ...
About the Artist
Aegidius Sadeler, II · 1570–1629
Aegidius Sadeler II was born in Antwerp around 1570 into the most distinguished printmaking dynasty of the sixteenth century. The Sadeler family — spanning Jan I, Raphael, and Aegidius I — dominated the European print trade from their Flemish base, and Aegidius II was trained by his uncle Jan Sadeler I, under whom he was listed as a pupil in the records of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1585. He...