7/7
Medium
pen
Dimensions
61; 105
About this artwork
Ontwerp voor een prent.
Art Historical Context
Heinrich Aldegre's *7/7* (1552) is a delicate pen drawing, measuring just 105 mm high by 61 mm wide, serving as a preparatory design—or "ontwerp voor een prent"— an engraving. Created during the Northern Renaissance, this intimate work exemplifies Aldegrever's mastery as a German engraver goldsmith from Soest, Westphalia. As one of the "Little Masters," he specialized in small-scale prints that packed intricate detail into compact formats, often blending ornamental motifs with allegorical or religious themes. The piece reflects the meticulous preparatory process of 16th-century printmaking, w...
About the Artist
Heinrich Aldegrever · 1502–1561
Heinrich Aldegrever, born in 1502 in Paderborn, Westphalia, to parents Herman and Katherine Trippenmeker—a family of clog-makers known by the dialect name Trippenmecker—emerged as a multifaceted artist in the German Renaissance. His early training remains undocumented, though he likely apprenticed in a Soest goldsmith's workshop after relocating there around 1525, where he joined the painters' gui...