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Standing Officer Holding a Boar's Spear
Also known as: Standing Officer; Standing Officer Holding a Halberd
About the Artwork
This sheet is the only known preparatory drawing for an important group of engravings depicting military figures designed by Hendrick Goltzius between 1582 and 1600. Here Goltzius depicted a military officer with a confident stance and direct gaze as he staunchly holds a spear in his right hand and carries his sword on his hip. Details such as the fluttering scarf and the feather-trimmed hat enliven the image. The background portrays the deeds of the protagonist, including a scene with troops on the right, and two other officers, perhaps shown training with spears, on the left. Such imagery usually promoted militaristic values such as bravery in the period, as the Netherlands underwent continuous warfare with Spain. Goltzius's technique includes fine pen strokes and delicate brown washes combined with red chalk additions on the face and hands, which add a degree of naturalism and finish to the drawing.
Inscriptions
signed, lower center, in brown ink: [artist's monogram, retouched: HG]; verso of secondary support, upper right in graphite(?): £65; upper left, in graphite: 207420; upper left, in graphite: 35[circled]; center, in graphite: Exh. / Boymans Mus. Rotterdam / Hendrick Goltzius als Tekenaar cat 81; lower right, in graphite: [illegible] / 10; lower left, in graphite: 3
Provenance
?-1768: G. Braamkamp, Amsterdam; 1768: his sale, P. Yver, Amsterdam, 29 February 1768, no. 265. ca. 1768-ca. 1780: Van Der Hoog, Amsterdam. 1780: his sale, Amsterdam,10 April 1780, no. 128 1780: Sold, P. Yver, Amsterdam, 30 October 1780, no. 3. ?-1782: Juda van Benjamin Senior, Amsterdam 1782: his sale, Jan Willem Smit, Amsterdam, 4 November 1782, no. 27 ?-1859: John 2nd Lord Northwick (1770-1859), London 1921: his sale, "remaining portion of" his collection, Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, London, 5 July 1921, no. 79 ca. 1920s-ca. 1952: Sir Robert Witt (1872-1952), London (Lugt 2228b) by 1959-1974: Dr. and Mrs. Frances Springell (1898-1974), Portinscale, Cumberland (Lugt 1049a) 1976: sold Sotheby Mak van Waay B.V., Amsterdam, 3 May 1976, lot 93 1994: with Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox Ltd., London 1994: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Mannerism: Italian, French, and Netherlandish Prints, 1520-1620. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 3-October 26, 1997). Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002). Tales of the City: Drawing in the Netherlands from Bosch to Bruegel. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (October 9, 2022-January 8, 2023).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617)
- Date
- 1586
- Medium
- Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, red chalk with traces of white opaque watercolor over black chalk, on paper; traces of transfer
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 20.6 x 15.6 cm (8 1/8 x 6 1/8 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Accession no.
- 1994.195
More by Hendrick Goltzius in museum collections
A Nude Female Figure Fleeing to the Right with Arms Outstretched, with Sketch of a Bust of Secondary Figure (recto); A Sketch of a Nude, Kneeling Female Figure, Supported by Another Standing (verso)
Hendrick Goltziusc. 1600 (recto); 1598/99 (verso) · Drawing
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00000298
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