The Infant Christ, from "Allegorical Scenes on the Life of Christ, from Christian and Profane Allegories"
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 10 5/8 x 7 1/2 in. (27 x 19 cm) mount: 13 7/8 x 10 5/16 in. (35.2 x 26.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.56
Tags
Art Historical Context
This engraving, titled *The Infant Christ*, forms part of a larger series titled *Allegorical Scenes on the Life of Christ, from Christian and Profane Allegories*. Created through the collaborative efforts of Dutch printmaker Hendrick Goltzius and Flemish engraver Philips Galle, the work exemplifies the Northern Renaissance tradition of blending sacred narratives with classical or secular motifs. Such series allowed artists to explore moral and theological themes in ways that appealed to educated audiences familiar with both Christian scripture and ancient mythology. As an engraving, the medi...
About the Artist
Hendrick Goltzius|Philips Galle · 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...