Hendrick Goltzius 1558 to 1617
2008 saw the 450th anniversary of the birth of Hendrick Goltzius. Later becoming an engraver, painter, etcher and illustrator, he was born in Mühlbracht/Bracht which is now Brüggen in the year 1558.
Hendrick Goltzius moved from Mühlbracht to Duisburg with his family at the age of three. A very talented boy, he learned glass painting and exhibited convincing drawing skills at an early age.
Hendrick left Duisburg in 1574 and started an apprenticeship as an engraver in Xanten. A portrait of the renowned cosmographer Gerhard Mercator drawn and engraved by Hendrick Goltzius appeared that same year. It is the first work of the engraver who would go on to become so famous.Hendrick Goltzius followed his master to Haarlem in 1577 and soon established his own large and highly successful graphics workshop there. Here the skilled illustrator and engraver created an extensive body of high-quality works that made him famous even during his lifetime. Hendrick Goltzius passed away in Haarlem in the year 1617.
