A print on beige paper in black ink of a gathering of partially clothed female figures around a monument on which a female figure in a headdress sits, her breasts exposed. A male figure with defined muscles sits in the foreground among animals with his back to the viewer.

Allegory of Rome, title plate from The Roman Heroes

1586

Hendrick Goltzius Dutch, 1558–1617

Netherlands

This engraving is from a series of ten prints depicting heroes from ancient Roman history. In this allegorical title plate, the Haarlem engraver Hendrick Goltzius dedicated the series to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, framing him, a modern ruler, as the heir of ancient Roman valor. The bulging bodies and fanciful costumes in the imaginary portraits are characteristic of Goltzius’s style, which emulated and exaggerated the dynamic poses and muscular forms of ancient sculpture.

Engraving on ivory laid paper

Prints and Drawings