The High Renaissance
 
&

Mannerism

 

Lucas van Leyden

(b Leiden, c. 1494; d Leiden, 1533).

North Netherlandish printmaker, draughtsman and painter, son of HUGO JACOBSZ. He was the first Dutch artist to establish an international reputation for himself as an engraver while he was still alive. His prolific output as a printmaker—c. 200 prints—shows the whole of his development; dated engravings survive from practically every year between 1508 and 1530. His early prints hark back to those of his slightly older German contemporary, Albrecht Durer; later on, his work was clearly meant to compete with that of Durer, while from 1525 onwards it was influenced mainly by examples from the Italian Renaissance, which reached Lucas through the prints by Marcantonio Raimondi and the work of Jan Gossart, the first to bring this new style to the north. Less international in outlook than his graphic work—but at least as important for the development of north Netherlandish art—is the rather small group of paintings attributable to the artist. Lucas was also an exceptionally talented draughtsman, as can be seen in the underdrawings that have been revealed in his paintings. Despite the small number of independent drawings that have been preserved, they give a good impression of the quality and range of his work in this field.

Lot and his Daughters
c. 1520
Oil on wood, 48 x 34 cm
Musee du Louvre, Paris

Card Players
1525
Oil on panel, 40 x 50 cm
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid