Jael

Maarten van Heemskerck

ca. 1560 · Pen and black ink over black chalk; traced for transfer; remains of original borderline at the top and bottom left · Robert Lehman Collection

Jael, who killed Sisera, commander of the Canaanite forces, by driving a stake through his temple (Judges 4:17-21), is one of the Eight Exemplary Women from the Old and New Testament who are represented in a series of engravings (printed around 1560) after designs by van Heemskerck, of which this drawing is one. The engravings attained instant renown, for by 1568 they were mentioned in the second edition of Vasari’s Vite. Marten van Heemskerck was one of the first Netherlandish artists to make designs expressly for reproduction by professional printmakers. The almost seven hundred engravings and etchings after his designs had a lasting impact on subsequent generations of Dutch painters.

Artist

Maarten van Heemskerck

Date

ca. 1560

Medium

Pen and black ink over black chalk; traced for transfer; remains of original borderline at the top and bottom left

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975