Lancer, sheet 9 from the cycle Officers and Soldiers

Jacques de Gheyn II. - engraver, Hendrick Goltzius - inventor

Jacques de Gheyn II. - engraver, Hendrick Goltzius - inventor - Lancer, sheet 9 from the cycle Officers and Soldiers
The twelve sheets from this cycle are de Gheyn’s earliest dated prints. The artist worked from models by Hendrick Goltzius, in whose workshop he apprenticed as a printmaker. Goltzius published similar engravings of officers and cornets in the 1580s. In the Netherlands, which had been fighting with Spain since 1568, the depictions of soldiers were particularly topical. De Gheyn’s early work reflects Goltzius’s energetic manner of engraving and prominent volumes. However, the movement of de Gheyn’s soldiers is strongly stylized, a feature that distinguishes them from other similar cycles. Rather than warriors, they resemble fashion models in elegant clothing.
date:
measurements: height 216 mm
width 159 mm
material: paper
technique: engraving
inventory number: R 102198
gallery collection: Collection of Prints and Drawings