Jacques de la Faille
Medium
Engraving on silk, laid down on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 20 × 13 cm (7 7/8 × 5 1/8 in.)
Classification
silk
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
268482
Art Historical Context
Created by the renowned Dutch engraver Hendrick Goltzius in 1580, this intimate portrait depicts Jacques de la Faille, a figure likely connected to the merchant circles of the Netherlands during the late Renaissance. At just twenty-two years old, Goltzius was already demonstrating the technical brilliance that would make him one of the most celebrated printmakers of his era. The work belongs to the tradition of Northern European portraiture, where engravings served both as personal mementos and as vehicles for social status. What makes this piece particularly remarkable is its medium: an engr...
About the Artist
Hendrick Goltzius · 1558–1617
Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617) was the most celebrated engraver of the Northern Renaissance and a pivotal figure in Dutch Mannerism. Born near the German-Dutch border, Goltzius transformed printmaking into a virtuoso art form through his revolutionary 'swelling line' technique, where the burin was manipulated to create lines of varying thickness that produced unprecedented tonal effects and three-d...