Christ And The Samaritan Woman

Artist Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617)

Artist Julius Goltzius (Dutch, about 1550–about 1595)

Date1586

Mediumengraving on thin, slightly textured cream laid paper, trimmed within plate mark

Dimensions28.8 x 20.5 cm (11 5/16 x 8 1/16 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

MarkingsWatermark: armorial shield. Mounted to secondary support (medium, moderately textured wove paper) with watermark ("Cie. R. IM HOI [?])

Credit LineAustin S. Garver Fund

Object number1992.90

Label TextThis piece is one of Goltzius’s early endeavors to become a print publisher. His drawing was engraved by his cousin Julius, son of a Bruges publisher. While the formulaic composition reflects Mannerist experiments, the regular burin work exemplifies the systematic manner of Antwerp engraving. The tale of Christ’s kindness to a gentile adulteress is the pretext for a voluptuous Italianate figure. The image’s most unusual feature is the windlass, with its twisted stanchion and spiked pulley. This object symbolizes Christ’s violent fate, suggesting binding cords, scourge, whip, and thorny crown of his Passion.ProvenanceJames A. Bergquist, P.O. Box 2075, Boston MA 02106

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