The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 31, 2023

Apollo

1588

Hendrick Goltzius

(Dutch, 1558–1617)

Netherlands, 16th century

Engraving

Support: Blued white laid paper

Sheet: 35.3 x 27.1 cm (13 7/8 x 10 11/16 in.); Platemark: 34.9 x 26.7 cm (13 3/4 x 10 1/2 in.)

Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Prasse Collection 1969.48

Catalogue raisonné: Hollstein 131 (VIII)

State: I/I

Location

not on view

Description

This engraving depicts Apollo as the radiant sun god. With fire-like hair, he strides through rolling waves of clouds, while in the background his chariot makes its daily trip across the sky. The Latin text that forms his halo translates: “With its aureole and shining ray, the bright Sun drives away the darkness and lights the whole earth.” Apollo’s excessively muscled body reflects an aspect of Mannerism, a stylistic trend in the mid- to late 1500s that exaggerated natural qualities. By over embellishing Apollo’s musculature, Goltzius transformed an athletic male body into a supernatural one.

Inscriptions

Inscription

upper center, in plate (words form a halo around Apollo's head): Sol rutilus radiante coma, et fulgore corusco / Dispellit tenebras, totumque illuminat orbem ; lower center, in plate: HG.[in monogram] fe. ; lower center, in plate: A°.88. ; VERSO, upper center, in graphite: 38 N°60 ; upper center, in graphite: H. Goltzius ; lower center, in graphite: C3575 7. ; lower center, in graphite: 1-10 ; lower right, in graphite: H 131 ; lower right, in graphite: 12[circled] ; lower left, in graphite: 1C [lt?]

Provenance
purchased from (Colnaghi, London, 5/10/69).
Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).

Albrecht Dürer - 500th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 19-March 28, 1971).

Eight Masters of the Print. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 14, 1980-January 18, 1981).

Leona E. Prasse, Connoisseur and Curator. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 28-August 25, 1985).

Mannerism: Italian, French, and Netherlandish Prints, 1520-1620. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 3-October 26, 1997).

Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-May 17, 2015).

Gods and Heroes: Ancient Legends in Renaissance Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 26-December 31, 2017).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.48