Bildnis des Gillis van Breen by Hendrick Goltzius

Bildnis des Gillis van Breen 1588

drawing, chalk

portrait

drawing

netherlandish

facial expression drawing

portrait reference

portrait head and shoulder

13_16th-century

chalk

animal drawing portrait

portrait drawing

facial study

facial portrait

portrait art

fine art portrait

digital portrait

Hendrick Goltzius' "Bildnis des Gillis van Breen" is a masterful example of black chalk and wash portraiture. Created in 1588, the drawing shows Gillis van Breen, a prominent figure in the Dutch Republic, dressed in the fashion of the era. Goltzius' meticulous attention to detail is evident in the rendering of van Breen's facial features, the intricate folds of his collar, and the texture of his clothing. The drawing's realistic depiction and the artist's signature at the bottom left corner are testament to Goltzius's mastery of the medium. The piece is now part of the Städel Museum's collection.

Comments

stadelmuseum over 1 year ago

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According to an old memo, Gillis van Breen was Goltzius’s “art printer”; he probably played an important role in the artist’s workshop. The fact that Goltzius executed several portraits of van Breen in which he experimented in one way or another suggests that the two men were on friendly terms. The most well-known of these portraits is the chalk drawing in the Städel Museum collection. It is the earliest example of an entire series of large-scale coloured portrait drawings primarily of artists, executed by Goltzius in Holland and Italy in the period around 1590.