* Hendrick Goltzius 1558-1617

the set of four engravings, after Cornelis van Haarlem, 1588, good and very good impressions of the second state of the three, with Visscher's address.

William H. Schab Gallery, New York

Acquired from the above, 1987

The series depicts four figures from classical mythology - Tantalus, Icarus, Phaeton and Ixion - who challenged the gods and were punished for their temerity. Each is depicted nude in a roundel being cast down to earth. Goltzius's prints are based on compositions by Cornelius van Haarlem and are products of the so-called Haarlem Academy. The contorted poses of the falling figures are the ideal means of displaying the bulging muscles characteristic of this style.