Christ Before Caiaphas; Plate 4 from The Passion of the Christ
1597. Engraving on cream laid paper with an anchor topped with a trefoil watermark, 8 x 5 3/8 inches (204 x 137 mm), thread margins. Likely one of the copies produced in Goltzius's own studio, printed later, however an early copy evidenced by the lack of the numeral 4 indicating the plate number, which was added in later states. The watermark would indicate that this is a late 16th, early 17th century impression.
[New Hollstein (Dutch & Flemish): 18; Bartsch: III.20.28; Hollstein: 22].
In this series Goltzius intentionally moved away from his typical flamboyant, swelling lines to adopt a more restrained technique. This was done to emulate the style of the earlier Netherlandish master Lucas van Leyden, reflecting a late 16th-century revival of interest in Lucas's work. The Passion of Christ was extremely popular during Goltzius’s own lifetime and well beyond. This is evidenced by a very deceptive set of copies produced in Goltzius’s own studio and six additional sets of copies dating from the late 1590s to the mid-seventeenth century. In addition to owning two sets of the Goltzius’s original prints, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has three different sets of copies in its permanent collection.
Item number: 2470
Price: $700.00
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