Portrait of Philips Galle

Date1582

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number2006.056.001

Label TextPhilips Galle was himself first an engraver who worked for the Antwerp publisher Hieronymous Cock in the late 1550s. In 1563 he began publishing his own engravings in his native city of Haarlem, and in 1570 settled permanently in Antwerp as a publisher, supervising a large workshop of designers, engravers, and authors of inscriptions. Goltzius began working for Galle in 1577 as an engraver. Both men had been trained in Haarlem by the same master, Dirck Coornhert. In an echo of Galle's earlier career, Goltzius left his employ in 1582 to set up his own printmaking shop in Haarlem. This portrait served as both his homage and farewell to Galle.

Note that Galle's right hand holds a furled print and points to the burin, the engraver's tool, on the table. The Latin inscription, written by the humanist scholar Janus Dousa, praises both Galle and Goltzius. It can be translated, thus: "Reader, if you have ever seen Galle before, you will have no need whatsoever of my assurance, or that of another, to know that the features you see engraved in copper are a likeness of Galle. O skillful burin, o nimble hand, hand of Goltzius blessed by Galle; face of Galle, blessed by Goltzius."
Exhibition HistoryRenaissance to Contemporary: Recent Acquisitions in Works on Paper, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 10 - May 27, 2007
Old Masters: Highlights of the Works on Paper Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 15 - December 6, 2009
Published ReferencesMCCM Newsletter, September-November 2009.

ProvenancePurchased by MCCM from R.E. Lewis and Daughter Original Prints, San Rafael, California.

Status

Not on view

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