Morning, plate one from Four Times of Day
c. 1595
Medium
Engraving on cream laid paper (discolored to beige)
Dimensions
Image/plate: 21 × 15 cm (8 5/16 × 5 15/16 in.); Sheet: 35.7 × 27.5 cm (14 1/16 × 10 7/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
196434
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Jan Saenredam, who began his career as a mapmaker, is esteemed as a pupil of both Hendrick Goltzius and, probably, Jacques de Gheyn (1565–1629). He studied briefly with the older artist in 1589, and from 1593 to 1597, he engraved drawings made by Goltzius in Rome. Saenredam’s prints, many of which were based on Goltzius’s works, were sometimes considered even more elegant and delicate than his teacher’s originals. Saenredam achieved a silvery tonality with subtle effects of artificial illuminati...
About the Artist
Jan Saenredam · 1565–1607
Jan Pieterszoon Saenredam (c. 1565–1607) emerged from humble beginnings in the Dutch village of Assendelft, where he was orphaned young and raised by his uncle, the local bailiff Pieter de Jongh. Initially destined for basket weaving or farm work, Saenredam's precocious talent for embellishing texts with intricate designs caught attention, leading to an apprenticeship in cartography. By 1589, at a...