Art Institute of Chicago

Nox, plate seven from Demogorgon and the Deities

Hendrick Goltzius

Date

1588/90

Medium

Chiaroscuro woodcut from three blocks of black, ochre and olive green, on ivory laid paper

Culture

Netherlands

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The Greek goddess of night, Nyx, was the mother of many deities, including those of sleep, dreams, misery, and death. In this image, her chariot is pulled by a fleet of bats and she is seated next to an owl, symbols of night and death. The rooster that rides atop her chariot can be seen as a symbol of night’s end, or a reference to the rooster that drew the chariot of the god Hermes to Hades. Chiaroscuro woodcuts like this one were usually made with several woodblocks; one with black ink was used to print the lines of the image, and the others produced tone by applying large colored areas to the image.

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