The Painter
1616
Medium
Engraving on paper
Dimensions
24.5 × 18.5 cm (9 11/16 × 7 5/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
80211
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Jan Saenredam frequently engraved the designs of other artists, especially Hendrick Goltzius and Abraham Bloemaert. The Painter offers an allegory of artistic inspiration based on the story that Saint Luke (the patron saint of painters) depicted the Virgin Mary from a vision. Dirk Vellert’s version of this scene epitomizes that iconography. Here, Mary becomes a nude Venus accompanied by a mirror-wielding Cupid, but the tone of the image remains reverential to the art form. Even the saint’s glass...
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...