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The Fall of Phaeton

Hendrick Goltzius Netherlandish
late 16th–early 17th century
Not on view
Phaeton, who recklessly drove Apollo's chariot through the heavens, tumbles from the shattered vehicle toward the earth. Zeus holds high a thunderbolt as he puts an end to Phaeton's rampage. This is one of at least fifty-two designs Goltzius made for an engraved series of Ovid's Metamorphoses. The engravings for the series do not display the virtuosity of his autograph works and were no doubt made by members of his workshop.
The drawing exemplifies a chiaroscuro technique that Goltzius had perfected for print designs by 1588. It allowed him not only to communicate clearly to the engraver the passages of dark and light, but also to produce very finished drawings that were no doubt sold as individual works of art once they had served their purpose in the workshop.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Fall of Phaeton
  • Artist: Hendrick Goltzius (Netherlandish, Mühlbracht 1558–1617 Haarlem)
  • Date: late 16th–early 17th century
  • Medium: Pen and brown ink, brown wash, heightened with white (slightly oxidized); brown ink framing lines; incised for transfer
  • Dimensions: 6 1/2 x 9 15/16 in. (16.5 x 25.3 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1992
  • Object Number: 1992.376
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Adoration of the Magi, Hendrick Goltzius Netherlandish, Engraving
Adoration of the Magi
Hendrick Goltzius
n.d.
Publius Horatius, Hendrick Goltzius Netherlandish, Engraving
Publius Horatius
Hendrick Goltzius
1586
The Dead Saviour and the Four Evangelists
Hendrick Goltzius
Anthonie Blocklandt
1583
Dissension in the Church (Dissidium in Ecclesia), Hendrick Goltzius Netherlandish, Engraving
Dissension in the Church (Dissidium in Ecclesia)
Hendrick Goltzius
Philips Galle
ca. 1578
The Eight Beatitudes, Hendrick Goltzius Netherlandish, Engraving
The Eight Beatitudes
Hendrick Goltzius
Philips Galle
ca. 1578

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