Portrait of a Humanist

This work is one of a group of imaginary and real portraits of scholars and others made by Goltzius at this time. Goltzius was renowned as a graphic artist and produced prints and drawings using a variety of techniques, including metalpoint, brush and ink, and chalk. He was also a pioneer in the art of “pen-painting,” a technique he invented in which pen is used directly on canvas to mimic the look of a print, which can be seen in this work. Goltzius impressed his audience with these works, which were admired for their high degree of detail and innovative processes.. Goltzius was one of the outstanding figures in Dutch art during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. His enthusiastic patrons included sovereigns from all parts of Europe, most notably the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. One of the most important engravers and print publishers of his time, he is most widely known today for the Mannerist engravings. This work represents, however, only a fraction of his entire oeuvre, which includes some 500 drawings and about 50 paintings, in addition to some 160 individual prints and series of prints that he and his workshop produced. This is one of the artworks presented by the Liverpool Royal Institution. Liverpool’s economic development grew directly from Britain’s involvement with transatlantic slavery: the kidnapping, enslavement and forced migration of people from West Africa to the Americas and many to the Caribbean. Many members of the Royal Institution made their fortunes directly through the trade or indirectly through the wider economy. This wealth was largely how they were able to bring rare art and treasures, such as this, to the city.