The Golden Age
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet: 18.5 x 26.2 cm (7 5/16 x 10 5/16 in.), cut within platemark
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Estate of Leo Steinberg
Accession Number
2011.139.164
Art Historical Context
**The Golden Age**, an engraving on laid paper from around 1589, hails from the workshop of Hendrick Goltzi, the renowned Dutch Mannerist engraver, faithfully reproducing his original design. Measuring just 18.5 x 26.2 cm, this intimate print captures Goltzius's mastery of the burin, creating rich, swelling lines that mimic the fluidity of brushstrokes. Produced during the late Renaissance in Haarlem—a thriving hub of Northern European printmaking—this work exemplifies the era's innovative reproductive techniques, allowing designs to be widely disseminated to collectors and scholars across Eur...