Schelte Adams à Bolswert

Schelte Adams à Bolswert was a reproductive engraver whose burin work carried the compositions of the Antwerp masters into print, and his sheets range across religious subjects, the flight into Egypt, and mythological scenes such as the drunken Silenus. The present selection gathers twenty of his prints, made chiefly in engraving with occasional etching and often preserved in early states, and the impressions date from 1595 up to 1640. Saints, putti, and scriptural episodes dominate this group, giving a compact view of his disciplined, linear approach to the plate.

20 works in the collection · All public domain (CC0)

The Return from Egypt (1595–1659)

1595–1659 · Engraving

The drunken Silenus, supported by a satyr and a faun

1625–59 · Engraving; second state of three

Saint Catherine (ca. 1600–59)

ca. 1600–59 · Engraving

The Virgin and Christ Child, with Saint John the Baptist Showing Them a Bird at Right, Saint Anne in the Background at Right, and a Putto at Lower Left

ca. 1600–59 · Engraving

The Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth and the infant Saint John the Baptist, holding a goldfinch on a string (ca. 1600–59)

ca. 1600–59 · Engraving; first state of two

Saint Francis Xavier with a divine light emanating towards him from the upper left, with a crucifix, mitre, and book on a table at left (ca. 1623–33)

ca. 1623–33 · Engraving

Saint Ignatius Loyola, standing and holding an open book (ca. 1623–33)

ca. 1623–33 · Engraving

The Holy Family with Saint Anne (ca. 1625–35, Met-Objekt 1162)

ca. 1625–35 · Engraving; first state of two

The Holy Family with Saint Anne (ca. 1625–35, Met-Objekt 1165)

ca. 1625–35 · Engraving; second state of two

Saint Barbara holding palm leaves with a sword and flowers at her feet, two putti overhead holding a laurel

ca. 1625–59 · Etching and engraving; first state of two

Saint Catherine holding palm leaves and a sword, two putti overhead holding a laurel (ca. 1625–59, Met-Objekt 1128)

ca. 1625–59 · Etching and engraving; first state of two

The Holy Family with a Parrot

ca. 1625–59 · Engraving; third state of three (Hollstein)

Saint Catherine holding palm leaves and a sword, two putti overhead holding a laurel (ca. 1625–59, Met-Objekt 1190)

ca. 1625–59 · Etching and engraving; second state of two (undescribed)

The Education of the Virgin (ca. 1630–54, Met-Objekt 1175)

ca. 1630–54 · Etching and engraving; second state of five

The Education of the Virgin (ca. 1630–54, Met-Objekt 1176)

ca. 1630–54 · Etching and engraving; second state of five

Saint Francis Xavier and Saint Ignatius of Loyola

ca. 1633–59 · Engraving; second state of two

The Virgin and Christ child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist

ca. 1640–59 · Engraving; second state of three

Saint Cecilia playing the organ surrounded by putti

ca. 1640–59 · Engraving; third state of three

Saint Teresa of Avila interceding for Bernardino de Mendoza (ca. 1640–59)

ca. 1640–59 · Engraving; second state of three

Diana returning from the chase, accompanied by dogs and her nymphs at left, two satyrs at right (ca. 1640–59)

ca. 1640–59 · Engraving; second state of two (Hollstein)