The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

Portrait of Frederick de Vries and His Dog

1597

Hendrick Goltzius

(Dutch, 1558–1617)
Netherlands, 16th century
engraving
Sheet: 36.3 x 26.8 cm (14 5/16 x 10 9/16 in.); Platemark: 36 x 26.6 cm (14 3/16 x 10 1/2 in.)
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1951.275
Catalogue raisonné: Hollstein 218 (VIII)
Location: Not on view

Description

The inscription in the center states: "I dedicate [this work] to the excellent painter Dirck de Vries in Venice out of friendship and to represent his absent son." The inscription in the bottom margin, written by the Dutch scholar Petrus Scriverius (or Peter Schrijver, 1576–1660), reads: "You may not understand what is contained in this work: Here is the meaning for you in a few words. Simplicity seeks and loves faithfulness. The faithful dog and the innocent boy, that Goltzius faithfully rendered with a Phidian hand in copper." Goltzius made this print for his friend the painter Dirck de Vries (Netherlandish, active 1590–1609) to let him know how his son was progressing under Goltzius’s care in the Dutch city of Haarlem. The two artists had met in Venice, where de Vries still lived. Phidias, referred to in the inscription, was an ancient Greek sculptor whose works were celebrated for their classical forms and their expressions of noble and moral character.
  • Hippolyte Dreux (1800-1884), Paris, script (Lugt 694), verso, lower left, in brown ink. Jules Michelin (c.1815-1870), Paris, stamp (Lugt 1490), verso, lower right, in purple ink. purchased from (Kennedy and Co., 7/26/51).
  • European Gallery 202 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 26-July 26, 2010).
    Mannerism: Italian, French, and Netherlandish Prints, 1520-1620. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 3-October 26, 1997).
    The Print Club of Cleveland, 1919 - 1969: Fifty Years in Review. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 14-March 31, 1970).
    Old Master Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 29, 1966-February 28, 1967).
    The Ikle and Jacoby Collection of Laces and Embroideries. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 25-June 3, 1962).
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of Frederick de Vries and His Dog|url=false|author=Hendrick Goltzius|year=1597|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1951.275