Artwork Page for The Great Hercules or 'Knollenman'

Details / Information for The Great Hercules or 'Knollenman'

The Great Hercules or 'Knollenman'

1589

Hendrick Goltzius

(Dutch, 1558–1617)
Culture
Netherlands, 16th century
Medium
engraving
Support
Cream(3) laid paper
Measurements
Sheet: 56.3 x 40.1 cm (22 3/16 x 15 13/16 in.); Image: 54.2 x 40 cm (21 5/16 x 15 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1995.38
Catalogue raisonné
Hollstein 143 (VIII); New Hollstein XXIV.pt. 1.257.156, state I/II
State
I/II
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The exaggerated and unnatural musculature of this figure may suggest that the Netherlandish artist Hendrick Goltzius had never studied a real human body. Indeed, he pulled from a mixture of sources including classical sculpture, Italian art, and his imagination. Goltzius ushered in Mannerism in Northern Europe, a style that featured exaggerated forms and metaphorical and allegorical subject matter. Known for his skill with an engraving burin, he transformed the technique, creating engraved lines that taper and swell to emphasize volume and form to extreme effect.

The Great Hercules or 'Knollenman'

1589

Hendrick Goltzius

(Dutch, 1558–1617)
Netherlands, 16th century

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