- Title
- Portrait of Hieronymus Scholiers
- Date Made
- 1583
- Period
- 16th century
- Medium
- Engraving
- Dimensions
- Mat: 17 1/16 × 14 1/4 in. (43.34 × 36.2 cm)
Sheet: 4 × 3 in. (10.16 × 7.62 cm)
Image: 3 7/8 × 2 15/16 in. (9.84 × 7.46 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.2024.97
- Collecting Area
- Prints and Drawings
- Curatorial Notes
This engraving shows a half-length bust of a refined young man facing left, his head turned and his eyes directed toward the viewer in a confident, clear gaze. He wears a fine cloak with braided detail at the shoulders and a ruff around his neck. In a feat of illusion, the sitter appears in front of the oval frame of the print, with his shadow at left suggesting that he is somehow seated outside of the engraving. The portrait is probably of Hieronymus Scholiers (1553−1597?), an Antwerp humanist and scholar of manuscripts.
This print dates to an early stage in Goltzius’s career, when the master printmaker was producing primarily engraved portraits. Many of his portraits from this period utilize ovals as compositional framing, as they align with the shape of the human face. Grounded in the Italian Renaissance portrait medal, itself based on ancient Roman coins desired by aristocratic collectors, Dutch interest in oval portraiture shows how particular styles were transmitted across the continent during the sixteenth century. Indeed, printed portraits were meant to be exchanged among the Dutch nobility, who included them in alba amicorum, or friendship albums, not unlike modern-day scrapbooks.
Claire Spadafora Baes
2024