Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • The Collection
  • Projects & Publications
  • Past Exhibitions

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Image

RISDM 50-149.jpg
Previous 1 / 1 Next

Hendrick Goltzius

Tethys, ca. 1588 - 1590

Description

Maker

  • Hendrick Goltzius, 1558-1617, Dutch

Title

Tethys

Year

ca. 1588 - 1590

Medium

Chiaroscuro woodcut from three blocks in ochre, brown, and black

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • chiaroscuro woodcut

Supports

  • Medium weight cream laid paper

Dimensions

Plate/Image: 34.5 x 26 cm (13 9/16 x 10 1/4 inches)

Identification

State

State 3b of 3

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Prints

Credit

Gift of Henry D. Sharpe

Object Number

50.149

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

A Matter of Tone

July 16 - October 31, 2004

The full meaning of this series has yet to be discovered. Helios (Sun) and Nox (Night) represent the heavens. Proserpine and Pluto (not included here) represent the underworld. Oceanus and his wife, Tethys (the pair is sometimes identified as Neptune and Galatea), represent the seas. The seventh, Demogorgon, is the father of all the gods, creator of chaos and order, accompanied by Eternity, the snake with her tail in her mouth, and Mother Nature, who brings forth plants and animals.

Demogorgon was probably the first print cut and has the most comprehensive line block. As the series progressed, Goltzius increased his use of the tone blocks, reducing the line particularly in Oceanus, perhaps the last woodblocks he carved in the series. There is some debate about whether Goltzius cut all or some of the blocks for his chiaroscuro prints or hired another artist as a blockcutter. In this series, each of the prints except Proserpine is inscribed with the monograms “HG f.” or “HG fe.”, which stand for “Hendrik Goltzius fecit” (Latin, “made it”), indicating that Goltzius cut these blocks himself. When he printed the blocks, Goltzius experimented with different combinations of colors. The earliest impressions in this series were printed in shades of gray, as is the Museum’s Oceanus; then tan, green, and black, such as Proserpine, Helios, Tethys, and Demogorgon; followed by the last impressions in ochre, brown, and black, as seen in Nox.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Tethys with the accession number of 50.149. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

RISD Museum

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  Vimeo
  •  Pinterest
  •  SoundCloud

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Secondary

  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use