Zuren, Jan van (1517-1591) publisher, burgomaster of Haarlem
Medium
Engraving and etching in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 12.9 × 10.1 cm (5 1/8 × 4 in.); Plate/sheet: 16.5 × 10.7 cm (6 1/2 × 4 1/4 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
41663
Art Historical Context
This intimate engraving, *Zuren, Jan van (1517-1591), publisher, burgomaster of Haarlem*, captures the likeness of a prominent Haarlem civic leader and publisher. Created by the masterful Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius 1590, it the late Renaissance portraiture tradition in the Northern Netherlands, where prints like this served as both personal mementos and status symbols for the emerging merchant elite. Goltzius, a Haarlem native renowned for his innovative printmaking, combined engraving and etching techniques on fine ivory laid paper to achieve remarkable depth and texture in this small-sc...
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...