St. Andrew, from Christ, the Apostles and St. Paul with the Creed

Art Historical Context

Behold *St. Andrew, from Christ, the Apostles and. Paul with the Creed a masterful engraving by Hendrick Goltus, created around 1589. This intimate portrait captures the apostle St. Andrew, one of Christ's original twelve disciples and patron saint of Scotland and fishermen, as part of a larger series that pairs religious figures with lines from the Apostles' Creed Goltzius, a leading Dutch engraver from Haarlem, produced this during the late Northern Renaissance, a time when printmaking revolutionized the spread of devotional imagery amid religious upheaval in the Reformation era. Measuring just 5 7/8 x 4 1/8 inches on the plate, the work exemplifies Goltzius's innovative Mannerist style. His "swelling line" technique—bold, fluid strokes that mimic the brushwork of paintings—creates a sense of volume and drama in this tiny format, making engravings like this accessible luxury items for collectors and the pious. Now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, thanks to the Bequest of Phyllis Massar in 2011, it highlights printmaking's role in democratizing sacred art. This piece invites reflection on faith's visual language, blending portraiture with theology to make the Creed memorable. A gem for visitors exploring Renaissance devotion! (198 words)

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...