The Punishment of Niobe (Plate 2)
1594
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 26.4 × 38.4 cm (10 7/16 × 15 1/8 in.)
Classification
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
268538
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Created in 1594 by Dutch engraver Jan Saenredam, *The Punishment of Niobe (Plate 2)* captures a dramatic moment from Greek mythology. Niobe, queen of Thebes, boasted of her children, angering the gods Apollo and Artemis, who then struck down her offspring. This engraving belongs to a series that brought such classical tales to a wider audience through the reproducible medium of print. Saenredam worked during the late Northern Renaissance, when engraving on laid paper allowed intricate details and dynamic compositions to circulate across Europe. The ivory-toned sheet and precise line work high...
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...