The Holy Family

Three leading Northern Mannerist artists were involved in the production of this elegant, charming, and slightly bizarre engraving: painter Hans von Aachen, engraver Lucas Kilian, and publisher Dominicus Custos. Von Aachen served as court painter to Emperor Rudolph II who so desired his services that the artist was not required to live in Prague. Though the painter eventually chose to reside there, he traveled so frequently that we may never know where he painted the image of the Holy Family that served as the basis for this engraving. Extremes of darkness and light as well as tightly packed yet energetic compositions are often seen in von Aachen's art; yet, Kilian transformed the image into an entirely new work of art by re-imagining it as a feat of bravura engraving. Such a metamorphosis catered to the Imperial Court's obsessive interest in alchemy, a mindset that extended well beyond attempts to change base metals into gold.