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Lot Essay
This sheet shows de Gheyn copying from prints by two of the Northern Old Masters who had the greatest impact on the draughtsmen of the Golden Age: the main group of figures shows Ahasuerus with his entourage from Lucas van Leyden's engraving (1494-1533) Triumph of Mordecai (Bartsch 32; Fig.1), while the heads in the lower part of the sheet are copied from The Last Supper (Bartsch 5), Christ in Gethsemane (Bartsch 6) and Ecce Homo (Bartsch 9), from the Large Passion series of woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). Another sheet with head studies after The Last Supper, attributed to de Gheyn, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Turner and White, op. cit., no. 65).
These copies should be seen as part of de Gheyn's continued efforts to absorb the lessons of the masters of the past. In choosing to study from these artists, he was following in the footsteps of other artists in his circle, who felt that the simplicity and power of the Northern Renaissance style could add sincerity to their own works. For example, in 1593-94 Goltzius had executed large-scale engravings which imitated the styles of the Old Masters he admired, among whom van Leyden and Dürer took prime position. Indeed, Goltzius's emulation was so faithful that his print of The Circumcision (Hollstein 12), in the manner of Dürer, apparently convinced his contemporaries that they had unearthed a previously unknown work by the master.
De Gheyn's copies after van Leyden and Dürer should therefore be seen in this context: as part of a half-playful, half-scholarly experimentation among the artists in his circle, including Karel van Mander as well as Goltzius. Another sheet of copies after Lucas van Leyden is in the de Grez Collection in the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels (Peeters, op. cit.), while the van Regteren Altena collection includes another copy by de Gheyn after van Leyden's Saint Christopher (to be offered in May 2015).
These copies should be seen as part of de Gheyn's continued efforts to absorb the lessons of the masters of the past. In choosing to study from these artists, he was following in the footsteps of other artists in his circle, who felt that the simplicity and power of the Northern Renaissance style could add sincerity to their own works. For example, in 1593-94 Goltzius had executed large-scale engravings which imitated the styles of the Old Masters he admired, among whom van Leyden and Dürer took prime position. Indeed, Goltzius's emulation was so faithful that his print of The Circumcision (Hollstein 12), in the manner of Dürer, apparently convinced his contemporaries that they had unearthed a previously unknown work by the master.
De Gheyn's copies after van Leyden and Dürer should therefore be seen in this context: as part of a half-playful, half-scholarly experimentation among the artists in his circle, including Karel van Mander as well as Goltzius. Another sheet of copies after Lucas van Leyden is in the de Grez Collection in the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels (Peeters, op. cit.), while the van Regteren Altena collection includes another copy by de Gheyn after van Leyden's Saint Christopher (to be offered in May 2015).