Grotesque Heads

1638

Bartholomeus Breenbergh, after Jacques de Gheyn III

Associated Names
Bartholomeus Breenbergh

Artist, Dutch, 1598 - 1657

Jacques de Gheyn III

Artist After, Dutch, c. 1596 - 1641

The image displays interconnected shapes resembling faces, sculpted with a mix of harsh and soft lines creating an abstract composition. The profiles of six bearded male figures are depicted, reminiscent of classical statues or ancient busts, with each figure receding into the background. The figures share similar facial features, closely etched together, evoking the appearance of historical stone carvings. The artwork conveys a sense of being sculpted from a single block of material, enhancing its ancient and timeless feel.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    plate: 8.2 × 11.6 cm (3 1/4 × 4 9/16 in.)
    sheet: 8.5 × 12.1 cm (3 3/8 × 4 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1971.67.3

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 24, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

D'Arenberg Collection, Brussels and Westphalila (Lugt 567); (Lucien Goldschmidt, New York); purchased by NGA, 1971.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1980

  • Printmaking in the Age of Rembrandt, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and The Saint Louis Art Museum, 1980-1981, no. 88, repro.

1984

  • Graphic Survey Show, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., February 1984.

Bibliography

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. German engravings, etchings and woodcuts ca. 1400-1700. 8 vols. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, 1954-1868. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. Vols. I-XV, XVIII, XIX. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberge

1981

  • Ackley, Clifford S. Printmaking in the Age of Rembrandt. Exh. cat. Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 1981:, 88.

1993

  • The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. (De Gheyn Family, Jan Piet Filedt Kok and Marjolein Leesberg, authors). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Publishers, 2000, "De Gheyn III," no. 24, state only.

Inscriptions

lower right in plate: 1638. / DGheyn

Markings

recto: none; verso: D'Arenberg Collection (Lugt 567)

Wikidata ID

Q65571035

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