The Third Day, plate 4, from Creation of the World

Art Historical Context

Behold *The Third Day, plate 4* from Jan Harmensz. Muller's *Creation of the World*, a captivating 1590 engraving that vividly captures the Biblical moment from Genesis when God separates the waters to form land and commands the earth to sprout vegetation. This circular composition, with its 27 cm diameter plate, viewers into a harmonious vision of divine order emerging from chaos, filled with lush plants, rolling hills, and seas. Muller, a leading Dutch engraver of the late Northern Renaissance and Mannerist circle—trained under Hendrick Goltzius—mastered the intaglio technique, incising fine lines into a metal plate to produce intricate details that shine through when inked and printed. Here, the work is rendered on luxurious ivory laid paper (32.4 × 27.8 cm sheet), a high-quality 16th-century support that enhances the print's delicate tones and textures, making it ideal for collectors. As part of a prestigious series illustrating the six days of Creation, this piece reflects the era's blend of religious devotion and emerging scientific curiosity about the natural world. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings department, it exemplifies how prints democratized grand artistic visions, inviting contemplation of humanity's origins in an age of artistic innovation.

About the Artist

Jan Harmensz. Muller · 1571–1628

Comment on works: Printer and Draughtsman