Goltzius engraving

HENDRICK GOLTZIUS                       Mülbracht 1558  – 1612 Haarlem

Pygmalion and Galatea.

Engraving; 1593. Hollstein 158, New Hollstein 157: second state of four, with the address of Saenredam, and before all later publishers’ addresses, thus rare.  An extremely fine impression, the guidelines for the inscription still visible. With 7 mm margins all around. With an unidentified paraphe verso upper right, possibly Jean-Baptiste François Jehannin de Chamblanc (1722-1797), Lugt 3713. In very fine condition, a small diagonal crease visible only verso.

This well known engraving by Goltzius celebrates the story of the sculptor Pygmalion.

According to Ovid, one of the favorite sources of the Renaissance for mythological subjects, Pygmalion carved a statue of Galatea so lovely that he prayed to the goddess Venus to have a wife as lovely as his statue. She answered his prayer and the statue came to life. Pygmalion is shown with the tools of his profession; the statue is depicted in the mode of the Venus Pudica, covering one breast and her genitals with her robe.

Goltzius’ spectacular virtuosity is here manifest in this early impression; the emphasis on the plastic contours of  the forms is created not merely by simple outline, but rather by the confluence of shading lines as they meet at the edges of limbs, eye sockets and other forms. As these shading lines come together, they reinforce the contours and enhance the plasticity of these forms, giving a vivid sense of life to the statue that Pygmalion has just created and brought to life, reinforcing the central aspect of the narrative depicted here.

329 x 219 mm   11 ¾ x 8 5/8 inches