Pietà

Goltzius's virtuosity and mastery of the engraving technique places him amongst the greatest printmakers of all time. As the leading exponent of late 16th century Mannerism, his printed oeuvre is however firmly rooted in the Renaissance tradition. His admiration of previous masters is immortalized in the Pietà, one the the peaks of his artistic development. As suggested by Huigen Leeflang, the likeness of Christ's body nestled on his weeping mother's lap recalls Michelangelo's famous marble sculpture in St. Peter's Basilica, which Hendrick had seen - and probably drawn - during his Roman sojourn in 1590. At the same time, as pointed out by Bartsch and before him, as early as 1604, by the painter and art historian Karel van Mander, the engraving undoubtedly pays homage to Albrecht Dürer, Goltzius' great predecessor and paragon to aspire to. He adapted several elements of The Virgin with the Swaddled Child of 1520 (Meder 40) for this composition. Just like Dürer draws attention to the Virgin's holiness by rendering her halo as a white orb that radiates light over the earth, so does Goltzius, in reverse. He further heightens the contrasts between the light radiating from the heads of the sorrowful mother and the dead Christ and the dark backdrop with Golgotha in the distance. Dürer's Christ child, tightly wrapped, somewhat stiff and with His eyes closed, foretells the gloomy end depicted by Goltzius.
(See H. Leeflang, G. Luijten, Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617): Drawings, Prints and Paintings, 2003, no. 81, pp. 226-227.)