Sperm whale beached near Berkhey on 3 February, 1598

Jacob Matham Netherlandish
 After Hendrick Goltzius Netherlandish

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 690

This engraving became the primary model for subsequent recordings of beached whales through the seventeenth century from Holland to Italy. Produced by one of the foremost print workshops of its day, the engraving must have been widely circulated. It was among the early naturalistic depictions of a beaching and expressed the great excitement and curiosity such events aroused across a wide swath of the public. Whale specialists have pointed out some inaccuracies in the depiction, including the placement of the fin and the shape of the mouth.

Sperm whale beached near Berkhey on 3 February, 1598, Jacob Matham (Netherlandish, Haarlem 1571–1631 Haarlem), Engraving

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Sperm whale beached near Berkhey on 3 February, 1598, Jacob Matham (Netherlandish, Haarlem 1571–1631 Haarlem), Engraving
Sperm whale beached near Berkhey on 3 February, 1598, Jacob Matham (Netherlandish, Haarlem 1571–1631 Haarlem), Engraving

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