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Boetius Adams Bolswert

Christ on the Cross with the Two Thieves

Description

Maker

Boetius Adams Bolswert (Flemish, 1580-1633), engraver
After Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640), designer

Title

Christ on the Cross with the Two Thieves

Year

ca. 1631

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

engraving

Supports

Dimensions

Plate: 61.6 x 43.3 cm (24 1/4 x 17 1/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Original--Verso:in pencil, UL:3 of-; in LL:1st finished state/before the date 1631.In Plate--In LL:P.P. Rubens pinxit.; in LC:Cum Priuilegijs Regis Christianissimi, Serenissimae Infantis, et Ordinum Confederatorum.; in LR:B. à Bolswert sculp. et excudit.; titled, LC:IESVS CRVCIFIXVS.; Latin inscription below title:Venerunt milites:et quidem... (see print for full inscription)

Identification

State

ii/iii

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

66.321

Type

Projects & Publications

Publications

  • Books

The Brilliant Line: Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650

Renaissance engravings are objects of exquisite beauty and incomparable intricacy that are composed entirely of lines. Artists began using this intaglio process in Europe as early as 1430. This captivating catalogue focuses on the height of the medium, from 1480 to 1650, when engravers made dramatic and rapid visual changes to engraving technique as they responded to the demands of reproducing artworks in other media. The Brilliant Line follows these visual transformations and offers new insight into the special inventiveness and technical virtuosity of Renaissance and Baroque (Early Modern) engravers. The three essays discuss how engraving’s restrictive materials and the physical process of engraving informed its visual language; the context for the spread of particular engraving styles throughout Europe; and the interests, knowledge, and skills that Renaissance viewers applied when viewing and comparing engravings by style or school.

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

The Brilliant Line
Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650
Sep 18, 2009 – Jan 03, 2010

Label copy

Bolswert, one of the engravers who worked for the Antwerp painter Peter Paul Rubens, engraved in a manner almost indistinguishable from other of Rubens's engravers, particularly his brother Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert. Rubens’s original painting was commissioned by the Antwerp burgomaster Nicolaas Rockox for the high altar of the Minderbroeders (Friars Minor, or Franciscan) Church in Antwerp. The verses below from John: 19 describe the moment when Christ was lanced with a soldier’s spear.

Related Publications

Related Publications

  • Books

The Brilliant Line: Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650

Renaissance engravings are objects of exquisite beauty and incomparable intricacy that are composed entirely of lines. Artists began using this intaglio process in Europe as early as 1430. This captivating catalogue focuses on the height of the medium, from 1480 to 1650, when engravers made dramatic and rapid visual changes to engraving technique as they responded to the demands of reproducing artworks in other media. The Brilliant Line follows these visual transformations and offers new insight into the special inventiveness and technical virtuosity of Renaissance and Baroque (Early Modern) engravers. The three essays discuss how engraving’s restrictive materials and the physical process of engraving informed its visual language; the context for the spread of particular engraving styles throughout Europe; and the interests, knowledge, and skills that Renaissance viewers applied when viewing and comparing engravings by style or school.

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Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Boetius Adams Bolswert (Flemish, 1580-1633), engraver
After Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640), designer
Christ on the Cross with the Two Thieves, ca. 1631
Engraving
Plate: 61.6 x 43.3 cm (24 1/4 x 17 1/16 inches)
Museum Works of Art Fund 66.321

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