Standing Officer Holding a Boar's Spear
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...
Details
- Palette
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- Dimensions
- sheet: height 0.206 m, width 0.156 m
- Department
- Drawings
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
11 tags
Subject Matter
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War and Military Both · 99%
The image prominently shows a spear-bearing officer with a sword at his hip, and the catalog identifies the central figure as a military officer with troops and other officers in the background.
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Human Figure Visual · 99%
A single large male figure occupies most of the vertically oriented sheet, with carefully rendered face, hands, clothing, and anatomy.
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Movement Both · 95%
The officer strides forward with a wide stance and extended spear arm; his scarf and other costume elements visibly reinforce the sense of action, which the catalog also describes as enlivening the image.
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Implied Narrative Both · 91%
The active foreground figure is accompanied by smaller background scenes of troops and possible spear training. The catalog describes these background episodes as portraying the protagonist’s deeds, while qualifying the left-side activity as uncertain.
Visual Qualities
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Highly Detailed Visual · 94%
Numerous fine marks describe the feathered hat, ruff, patterned sleeve, scarf, sword, spear, facial features, and background figures.
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Contour Line Visual · 89%
Controlled outlines define the figure, garments, weapons, and accessories, especially around the face, hands, sleeve, spear, and sword.
Medium and Techniques
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Drawing Both · 99%
The work is visibly a drawing and is cataloged as a drawing executed with pen and ink, washes, and chalk.
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Work on Paper Both · 99%
The image is a sheet-based drawing, and the catalog identifies paper as the support.
Time Periods
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16th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog dates the work to 1586.
Geographic Regions
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Dutch Art Metadata · 98%
The artist is identified as Dutch, and the place of origin is given as Haarlem, Netherlands.
Materials
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Use of Paper Metadata · 97%
The catalog specifies pen and brown ink, brown wash, red chalk, traces of white opaque watercolor over black chalk, and traces of transfer on paper.
Source & rights
Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617). Standing Officer Holding a Boar's Spear. Cleveland Museum of Art.