An incomparable collection of 1,440 Dutch Mannerist prints from the Hearn Family Foundation and Charles Hack collection has been acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago. Ranging chronologically from the 1530s to about 1650 and assembled over three decades they chart the history of Dutch printmaking at the period of its greatest technical and artistic sophistication. At its heart is the work of Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617), the most significant 16th-century Dutch artist and one of the greatest draftsmen and printmakers of his age. There are works by a generation of artists who either trained with Goltzius or tried to measure up to his formidable example. His pupils — including Jacob Matham, Jacques de Gheyn, Jan Saenredam, and Jan Muller — provide a rich and varied context to Goltzius’s masterworks.
Selections of prints from the collection will start going on regular view in galleries 212a and 213a in November 2023. A large exhibition and publication is tentatively scheduled for 2027.