St. Bartholomew, from Christ, the Apostles and St. Paul with the Creed 1584 - 1594

Hendrick Goltzius created this print of St. Bartholomew using engraving techniques that give the image a textured yet graphic quality. The composition is dominated by the Apostle who gazes upward, seemingly caught between earthly textures and divine inspiration. Consider the use of line here. Goltzius employs dense, curving lines to create the Apostle’s hair and beard, contrasting with the smoother lines defining his robe. The landscape in the background uses similar dense lines to create depth and a sense of the sublime. This contrast isn't just about texture; it's a formal strategy. It asks us to consider the interplay between the material world, represented by the rough textures, and the spiritual, suggested by Bartholomew’s upward gaze. The formal structure of the print invites us to question fixed meanings. Is Bartholomew looking towards heaven, or is he trapped by the material conditions represented by the heavy lines? Such formal ambiguities ensure that the work remains open to continuous interpretation.