Art Institute of Chicago

The Painter

Jan Saenredam (Dutch, 1565-1607)

Date

1616

Medium

Engraving on paper

Culture

Netherlands

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Jan Saenredam frequently engraved the designs of other artists, especially Hendrick Goltzius and Abraham Bloemaert. The Painter offers an allegory of artistic inspiration based on the story that Saint Luke (the patron saint of painters) depicted the Virgin Mary from a vision. Dirk Vellert’s version of this scene epitomizes that iconography. Here, Mary becomes a nude Venus accompanied by a mirror-wielding Cupid, but the tone of the image remains reverential to the art form. Even the saint’s glasses, frequently used in this period to denote fools, lack any satirical sting.

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