In the Cabinet: Hendrick Goltzius. «Engraver and Inventor»
Following the Carracci exhibition in summer 2007, the Kunstmuseum Bern is continuing the revision and presentation of its stocks of old prints with the oeuvre of the Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617).
Alongside Agostino Carracci, Goltzius was the most important copper-engraver of his day. His work is on the borderline between Netherlandish mannerism and the art of the “Golden Age” of Rubens and Rembrandt. Goltzius’ engravings are striking due to the virtuoso way in which the artist created the forms and the light by varying the hatching lines. In one particular series of works, moreover, he imitated the style of older artists like Albrecht Dürer or Lucas van Leyden with an astonishing dexterity.
In addition to engravings by Goltzius, the exhibition will also include words which were carried out by other engravers after his designs. These were produced after 1600, when Goltzius concentrated his energies on painting.
