After Hendrick Goltzius
From the series: Seven Planets
( Hollstein: 50–56; New Hollstein: (after Goltzius) 657–662 )
Fine impression, minor wear and a short tear in the left margin, shield watermark.
H : 56
N.H : 662

"The Seven Planets series is part of the iconographic tradition of planetary gods and their offspring. Alongside ancient pagan stellar beliefs, elements of classical mythology and divine iconography were transmitted throughout the Middle Ages in astrological manuscripts, calendars, and more generally in literature. As early as the 6th century BC, planets bore the names of ancient deities. According to astrology, children born under the influence of a planet and a constellation were characterized by specific qualities, activities, or professions."
From the late 15th century onward, particularly in the works of Marten van Heemskerck and Maarten de Vos, it was common practice in print series to depict the deity in question in a chariot on its celestial orbit, while the children of the planets went about their business on Earth.
Goltzius's fundamental iconographic innovation was to place the gods as statues on pedestals within a landscape surrounded by children of the planets dressed in the fashion of the time (see Ilja M. Veldman, "Antike Götter als Planeten und ihr Einfluss auf die Erdbewohner," in: catalogue Hendrick Goltzius – Mythos, Macht und Menschlichkeit, Petersberg/Dessau 2017, p. 142 ff.).
Goltzius also established a new hierarchy in the order of the planets, which—according to the knowledge of the time—began with the planet farthest from Earth, as well as in the characterization of planetary offspring.
Above these terrestrial scenes, which feature Latin verses by the Haarlem humanist Cornelius Schonaeus, the constellations and planetary symbols unfold across the sky. Goltzius's planetary images possess an imposing presence, thanks to the invention of earthly statues of the gods and the spatial composition that places the observer on the same visual level as the planetary offspring. Saenredam's brilliant technique lends them superb harmony and elegance.

"Nicolaas Teeuwisse, Berlin"