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Dutch and Flemish Mannerist Prints

The Great Hercules, 1589, by Hendrick Goltzius

Dutch and Flemish printmakers dominated the European print market from the mid-1500s well into the 1600s, elevating the status of printmaking within the fine arts and producing prints in greater numbers than ever before. Among the most prominent printmakers working at the turn of the century were Hendrick Goltzius and artists in his circle based in Haarlem and Amsterdam. Goltzius was a highly skilled engraver and draftsman whose distinct virtuoso style of engraving was adopted by his pupils including Jan Muller, Jacob Matham, and Jan Saenredam. Goltzius also influenced artists further afield like the Sadeler family of printmakers. Originally from Antwerp, the Sadelers established workshops in Cologne, Munich, Venice, and the at the court of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II in Prague. The  museum’s holdings of prints by the Goltzius school and Sadeler family are some of the strongest of any public American collection.