1589
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Phaeton's Sisters Changed into Poplars, and Cygnus into a Swan is a 1589 ink by Hendrik Goltzius, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows three robed figures standing in a forest. Two women clutch each other, their faces turned upward as if in grief. One holds a child who gazes down at a woman kneeling beside a swan. Trees with long, leafy branches frame the scene, and a small building peeks through the foliage. The women’s flowing robes and the swan’s delicate feathers are drawn with fine, precise lines. The artist used shading to show depth in the trees and faces. Next, look up engraving to see how artists like this one carved intricate details into metal plates.
Hendrick Goltzius (German: , Dutch: ; né Goltz; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter.
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