Saint John, plate four from The Four Evangelists

Art Historical Context

Jacques de Gheyn II created this finely detailed engraving of Saint John in 1588 as the fourth and final plate in his series *The Four Evangelists*. Working in the Netherlands during a period of religious and political upheaval, de Gheyn employed the precise lines and tonal contrasts possible with engraving on laid paper to capture the apostle’s contemplative expression and symbolic eagle. The circular format, measuring about 15 centimeters across, gives the image a medallion-like intimacy suited to private devotion or study. Engravings such as this one played an important role in spreading religious imagery across Europe at a time when printed works reached far more viewers than paintings. By rendering the evangelists in a consistent, refined style, de Gheyn helped shape a visual language that combined late-Renaissance elegance with emerging Dutch realism. Today, this print in the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection offers visitors a chance to appreciate both the technical mastery of sixteenth-century printmaking and the enduring spiritual significance of Saint John as the author of the fourth Gospel.

About the Artist

Jacques de Gheyn, II · 1565–1629

Jacques de Gheyn II (1565–1629) was born in Antwerp into an artistic family, receiving his earliest instruction from his father, Jacob de Gheyn I, a skilled glass painter, engraver, and draftsman. In 1585, the young de Gheyn moved to Haarlem, where he spent five formative years studying under Hendrik Goltzius, one of the most celebrated engravers of the Northern Renaissance. This apprenticeship pr...