Prudence, from The Virtues
c. 1593
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 21.6 × 14.4 cm (8 9/16 × 5 11/16 in.); sheet: 24.3 × 18.5 cm (9 5/8 × 7 5/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
267990
Art Historical Context
**Prudence, from The Virtues** c. 1593 Jacob Matham (Dutch, 1571–1631) Step into the intricate world of late 16th-century Dutchmaking with Jacob Matham's *Prudence, from The Virtues*. Created around 1593, this engraving captures the cardinal virtue of Prudence—often depicted as a wise figure holding a mirror and snake, symbols of self-reflection and caution. Matham, a master engraver from Haarlem and part of the influential circle around Hendrick Goltzius, contributed to a series promoting moral ideals during the Dutch Golden Age's early stirrings, amid religious and cultural shifts in ...
About the Artist
Jacob Matham · 1571–1631
**Jacob Matham: Master Engraver of Haarlem** Jacob Matham was born on October 15, 1571, in Haarlem, in the Northern Netherlands, into a burgeoning artistic milieu. Following his father's early death, his mother married the renowned painter and engraver Hendrick Goltzius in 1579, who adopted the young Jacob and trained him rigorously in the workshop as his stepson and pupil. Matham's first signed ...