# Circumcision in the Church of St Bavo at Haarlem [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [GOLTZIUS, Hendrick]() - Date: 1551-1600 - Technique: Engraving, 470 x 355 mm ## Commentary In 1593 and 1594 Goltzius executed a remarkable series of imitations of the styles of renowned printmakers and painters. The series is devoted to the Life of the Virgin, the theme of a famous series of prints by Albrecht Dürer, the first artist to have made a career out of virtuoso printmaking. One of the finest engravings in Goltzius's series, the Circumcision, emulates Dürer's silvery brilliance. Van Mander mentioned that Goltzius made one impression look old, to fool collectors into believing Dürer was its author. The self-consciousness of the exercise is clarified by Goltzius's self-portrait as witness, in the right background, and the event's setting in Haarlem's church of St Bavo. ## Related artworks - [Apollo]() - [Bacchus, Venus, and Ceres]() - [Calphurnius]() - [Dirck Volkertsz Coornhert]() - [Hercules and Cacus]() - [Icarus]() - [Jupiter and Antiope]() - [Lot and his Daughters]() - [Mercury]() - [Minerva]() - [Phaeton]() - [Portrait of Frederick de Vries]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()