Part of: HISTART 463 - Looking at Work on Paper (12 resources )
![A crowd gathers in the side chapel of a church around a group of seated figures and an infant. A man with a long flowing beard sits and holds the infant in his hands above a plate, while another man leans forward in his chair and peers through his spectacles at the child as he performs a circumcision. A plaque with the artist's initials, "HG," lies on the floor in the foreground.](/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMjIvMDUvMjUvMWF2bDN6YjJtNV9kZWZhdWx0LmpwZyJdLFsicCIsInRodW1iIiwiMjQweDIwMCJdXQ?sha=4b3872ade2eaeb7e "A crowd gathers in the side chapel of a church around a group of seated figures and an infant. A man with a long flowing beard sits and holds the infant in his hands above a plate, while another man leans forward in his chair and peers through his spectacles at the child as he performs a circumcision. A plaque with the artist's initials, "HG," lies on the floor in the foreground.")
![This woodcut print is vertically oriented. The upper half of the piece is celestial with an angel standing on a cloud blowing a trumpet. Men on fire-breathing beasts exit from the clouds. At the very top center, a white-bearded figure, shown from the torso to the head, holds four trumpets. Rays emanate from his head to form a halo, and he is framed in a half circle. Directly below him is an altar with vines on the sides and four child-faces spitting water out. The upper right corner features an angel blowing a trumpet and the upper left features a smiling angel with hands clasped in prayer. The lower half of the print is terrestrial and depicts a chaotic battle scene. Four angels with wings and swords attack a crowd of men, including a pope, a bishop and a king, as well as commoners. These figures are all crowded into the foreground with contorted postures. There is a city on a hill visible in the distance. The center bottom has Dürer’s signature of letter "D" contained within a letter &q](/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMjIvMDUvMjUvOG9lZzczejlmOF9kZWZhdWx0LmpwZyJdLFsicCIsInRodW1iIiwiMjQweDIwMCJdXQ?sha=dedaf9d225a350d0 "This woodcut print is vertically oriented. The upper half of the piece is celestial with an angel standing on a cloud blowing a trumpet. Men on fire-breathing beasts exit from the clouds. At the very top center, a white-bearded figure, shown from the torso to the head, holds four trumpets. Rays emanate from his head to form a halo, and he is framed in a half circle. Directly below him is an altar with vines on the sides and four child-faces spitting water out. The upper right corner features an angel blowing a trumpet and the upper left features a smiling angel with hands clasped in prayer. The lower half of the print is terrestrial and depicts a chaotic battle scene. Four angels with wings and swords attack a crowd of men, including a pope, a bishop and a king, as well as commoners. These figures are all crowded into the foreground with contorted postures. There is a city on a hill visible in the distance. The center bottom has Dürer’s signature of letter "D" contained within a letter &q")
![This small print depicts an ornamental pattern composed of curled acanthus leaves and spiralling vines terminating in flowers or buds. The plant ornament forms a symmetrical pattern around a central motif inscribed with the initials "HSB," which are conjoined. This motif is framed by two horn-shaped containers that end in monsters' heads.](/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMjIvMDkvMjQvMWF1Mm5janduYl9kZWZhdWx0LmpwZyJdLFsicCIsInRodW1iIiwiMjQweDIwMCJdXQ?sha=4a6f10ad36bc3373 "This small print depicts an ornamental pattern composed of curled acanthus leaves and spiralling vines terminating in flowers or buds. The plant ornament forms a symmetrical pattern around a central motif inscribed with the initials "HSB," which are conjoined. This motif is framed by two horn-shaped containers that end in monsters' heads.")
![A bearded man, wearing only a crown of thorns, a loincloth, and a long robe, stands stooped and sorrowful at the top of a short flight of steps. A man wearing a pointed cap and holding a scepter in his left hand emerges from the doorway behind him and points toward him with his right hand. A riotous crowd, full of grimacing and leering faces, stands on the steps and ground below. A column and a bundle of switches appear through the window behind the crowned figure. A small snarling dog appears in the foreground next to the steps where the artist's initials "M + S" are inscribed.](/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMjIvMDUvMjUvNTFsc3c3OHpxOF9kZWZhdWx0LmpwZyJdLFsicCIsInRodW1iIiwiMjQweDIwMCJdXQ?sha=edcd170d0d116cba "A bearded man, wearing only a crown of thorns, a loincloth, and a long robe, stands stooped and sorrowful at the top of a short flight of steps. A man wearing a pointed cap and holding a scepter in his left hand emerges from the doorway behind him and points toward him with his right hand. A riotous crowd, full of grimacing and leering faces, stands on the steps and ground below. A column and a bundle of switches appear through the window behind the crowned figure. A small snarling dog appears in the foreground next to the steps where the artist's initials "M + S" are inscribed.")
Works that highlight the various media and techniques of printmaking in use in the seventeenth century
12 Items in this Learning Collection
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Oceanus (from a Series of 6 Mythological Figures)
Accession Number
1960/2.36
Title
Oceanus (from a Series of 6 Mythological Figures)
Artist(s)
Hendrick Goltzius
Object Creation Date
circa 1589-1590
Medium & Support
chiaroscuro woodcut on laid paper
Dimensions
13 11/16 in. x 10 9/16 in. ( 34.7 cm x 26.9 cm )
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Label copy
Gallery Rotation Spring/Summer 2012
Hendrick Goltzius
Netherlands, 1558–1617
Oceanus, from a Series of Six Mythological Figures
circa 1589–90
Chiaroscuro woodcut
Museum purchase, 1960/2.36
Goltzius, like Dürer, traveled to Italy, and became the first artist in the Netherlands to depict many subjects from classical mythology. Here his subject is the Titan Oceanus. In ancient myth the Titans were the children of Earth and Heaven, which sprang from Chaos. They were referred to as the elder gods, whose ruling power was transferred to their children, the Olympians. Oceanus fathered the river-gods and the sea nymphs known as the Oceanids. According to Homer, Oceanus was the personification of the river that surrounded the earth, connecting, through a subterranean passage, all other rivers. Goltzius represents Oceanus as a benign old deity with a flowing beard, surrounded by Oceanids. Originally this woodcut was paired with a print of the Titan Tethys, his sister
and wife.
Subject matter
Inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses, this print depicts the god Oceanus riding a sea monster. The image of the deity was paired with a print of his wife, Tethys, as part of a series of six chiaroscuro woodcuts depicting mythological figures.
Physical Description
A powerfully muscled nude man sits astride a fearsome sea creature. He grasps an oar in his left hand and the beast's reins in his right, while a cloth billows out behind him. A variety of humanoid creatures frolic in the seascape in the background.
Primary Object Classification
Print
Primary Object Type
relief print
Additional Object Classification(s)
Print
Collection Area
Western
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Keywords
chiaroscuro woodcuts
gods (dieties)
mermaids
oars
oceans
relief printing
sea monsters
1960/2.36
Title
Oceanus (from a Series of 6 Mythological Figures)
Artist(s)
Hendrick Goltzius
Object Creation Date
circa 1589-1590
Medium & Support
chiaroscuro woodcut on laid paper
Dimensions
13 11/16 in. x 10 9/16 in. ( 34.7 cm x 26.9 cm )
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Label copy
Gallery Rotation Spring/Summer 2012
Hendrick Goltzius
Netherlands, 1558–1617
Oceanus, from a Series of Six Mythological Figures
circa 1589–90
Chiaroscuro woodcut
Museum purchase, 1960/2.36
Goltzius, like Dürer, traveled to Italy, and became the first artist in the Netherlands to depict many subjects from classical mythology. Here his subject is the Titan Oceanus. In ancient myth the Titans were the children of Earth and Heaven, which sprang from Chaos. They were referred to as the elder gods, whose ruling power was transferred to their children, the Olympians. Oceanus fathered the river-gods and the sea nymphs known as the Oceanids. According to Homer, Oceanus was the personification of the river that surrounded the earth, connecting, through a subterranean passage, all other rivers. Goltzius represents Oceanus as a benign old deity with a flowing beard, surrounded by Oceanids. Originally this woodcut was paired with a print of the Titan Tethys, his sister
and wife.
Subject matter
Inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses, this print depicts the god Oceanus riding a sea monster. The image of the deity was paired with a print of his wife, Tethys, as part of a series of six chiaroscuro woodcuts depicting mythological figures.
Physical Description
A powerfully muscled nude man sits astride a fearsome sea creature. He grasps an oar in his left hand and the beast's reins in his right, while a cloth billows out behind him. A variety of humanoid creatures frolic in the seascape in the background.
Primary Object Classification
Primary Object Type
relief print
Additional Object Classification(s)
Collection Area
Western
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Keywords
chiaroscuro woodcuts
gods (dieties)
mermaids
oars
oceans
relief printing
sea monsters
