The Daughters of the Po with River Gods

Art Historical Context

Created in 1591 by Swiss artist Joseph Heintz the Elder, *The Daughters of the Po with River Gods* depicts a mythological scene personifying the river Po and its tributaries alongside male river deities. Heintz, who trained in Italy and later served as court artist to Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, worked in the elegant, elongated style of Northern Mannerism. The large sheet—over two feet square—reveals his skill at blending narrative clarity with decorative grace. The drawing’s rich technique underscores its importance as a finished work rather than a quick sketch. Heintz combined pen and ink with brown wash, watercolor, and touches of white, red, and green gouache, then indented the outlines, indicating the design was meant to be transferred to another surface, most likely for an engraving or fresco. Such meticulously colored and heightened drawings were prized by collectors of the period as independent works of art. Now in the National Gallery of Art thanks to the generosity of Dian Woodner, the sheet offers modern viewers a vivid window into late-Renaissance court taste and the inventive ways artists visualized the natural world through classical allegory.