{{Short description|Dutch painter (1494–1534)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Use British English|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox person/wikidata | fetchwikidata = ALL | dateformat = dmy|suppressfields=children }} '''Lucas van Leyden''' (1494 – 8 August 1533),{{efn|Also named either '''Lucas Hugensz''' or '''Lucas Jacobsz'''}} was a Dutch painter and [[printmaker]] in [[engraving]] and [[woodcut]]. Lucas van Leyden was among the first Dutch exponents of [[genre painting]] and was a very accomplished engraver.{{sfn|Smith|1992}}
== Biography == Lucas was the son of the painter Huygh Jacobsz. He was born, died, and was mainly active in [[Leiden]].
[[Karel van Mander]] characterises Lucas as a tireless artist, who as a child annoyed his mother by working long hours after nightfall, which she forbade not only for the cost of candlelight, but also because she felt that too much study was bad for his sensibilities. According to Van Mander, as a boy he only consorted with other young artists, such as painters, glass-etchers and goldsmiths, and was paid by the ''Heer van Lochorst'' (Johan van Lockhorst of Leiden, who died in 1510) a golden florin for each of his years at age 12 for a watercolour of [[Hubertus|St. Hubert]].<ref name=Mander>{{in lang|nl}}<!--Middle Dutch--> [http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/mand001schi01_01/mand001schi01_01_0194.htm Lucas van Leyden biography] in [[Karel van Mander]]'s ''[[Schilder-boeck]]'', 1604, courtesy of the [[Digital library for Dutch literature]]</ref>
===Family=== In 1515, Lucas married Elisabeth van Boschhuysen, from a patrician Leiden family. The marriage remained childless. Lucas did have a daughter Marijtje, born in Leiden out of wedlock around 1512. This daughter Marijtje would later marry the painter Dammas Claesz de Hoij. In their offspring, the De Hoij family, one can find prominent artists throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
==Paintings== [[File:Lucas van Leyden - Potiphar's Wife Displays Joseph's Garment - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[Potiphar]]s Wife Displays Joseph's Garment'']]
He learned basic techniques from his father{{efn|{{harvnb|Smith|1992|p=279}} identifies Huygh Jacobsz with the pseudonymous ''Master of the St John Panels''.}} and from [[Cornelis Engelbrechtsz]], but his precocious originality was paramount. Where he learnt engraving is unknown, but he took advantage of the works of [[Marcantonio Raimondi]], whose motifs are reworked in Lucas' engravings and paintings, and became highly skilled in that art at a very early age: the earliest known print by him (''Mohammed and the Murdered Monk'') dates from 1508, when he was perhaps only 14, yet reveals no trace of immaturity in inspiration or technique.
Seventeen paintings surely by Lucas survive, and a further twenty-seven are known from descriptions by [[Karel van Mander]], from contemporary copies or from drawings of them made by Jan de Bisschop in the later 17th century.{{sfn|Smith| 1992}} [[Max Jakob Friedländer|Max Friedländer]] described no clear pattern of stylistic development, in large part because Lucas' oeuvre was swelled and obscured by attributions since found unsustainable.{{sfn|Friedländer|1924}}
Four broad stages in his artistic development are characterised by Elise Lawton Smith as his early half-length figures (''c'' 1506–1512), the development of his [[landscape]]s (''c'' 1512–1520), the influence of Antwerp paintings (''c'' 1521–25) and the late works (''ca'' 1525–1531), where multiple figures are deployed against wooded landscapes, as in the ''Healing of blind man of Jericho''.
Raimondi's studies of nudes inspired van Leyden in his later work, particularly his altarpieces, in which he is an early Dutch adopter of the Italian-style nude figure. Two further artistic influences were [[Albrecht Dürer]] and [[Jan Gossaert]]. Indeed, he was friends with both, and Dürer drew van Leyden's portrait when they met in 1521. Dürer's mastery of engraving and Gossaert's [[Romanism|Romanist]] style both heavily influenced van Leyden's work.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lucas-van-Leyden|title=Lucas van Leyden {{!}} Dutch artist|work=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=2018-10-23|language=en}}</ref>
== Prints == [[File:Lucas van Leyden - The Holy Family - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''The [[Holy Family]]'']]
Lucas's print included secular subjects, and many depictions of famous Biblical scenes, including ''Adoration of the Magi'', ''The Virgin and Child on the Crescent'', and ''The Holy Family''.
=== The Power of Women Series === From 1513 to 1517, Lucas created a series of woodcuts called "The Power of Women", which consisted of two large and small sets of prints.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1335479&partId=1&people=114364&peoA=114364-1-7&page=1|title=The New Hollstein: Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts 1450–1700|last=Hollstein|first=Friedrich. W. H.|date=1993|website=The British Museum}}</ref> The series is one of a number of representations of the [[Power of Women]] theme, which was extremely popular in Renaissance art and literature. Artworks in the genre depict the traditional roles of men and women in inverse, with women dominating over men in various situations. The subjects illustrated often consist of legendary historical women who were considered to be virtuous heroines as well as women who were considered cunning, seductive, and manipulative of men. The purpose of the "Power of Women" theme was to demonstrate that even the strongest and wisest of men were not resistant to the sexuality of women.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1410&context=mff|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720025853/http://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1410&context=mff|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 July 2010|title=Iowa Research Online}}</ref>
==== Large Power of Women (1513—) ==== ''The [[Bocca della Verità|Mouth of Truth]]'': A woman kneels in front of the Emperor of Rome and places her hand in the mouth of a statue of a lion while a crowd observes in the background.<ref name=LargePower />
''The [[Fall of Man]]'': In the foreground, Eve stands to the left of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, around which a serpent is wrapped, and hands an apple to Adam, who sits to the right of the tree. In the background to the right, an angel drives Adam and Eve out of Eden.<ref name=LargePower />
''[[Samson]] and [[Delilah]]:'' Delilah sits a bed of rocks while Samson lies sleeping in her lap. She holds his hair in one hand and cuts it with a knife.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/364682|title=Lucas van Leyden {{!}} Samson and Delilah {{!}} The Met|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|access-date=2017-06-19}}</ref>
''[[Solomon]]'s Idolatry:'' King Solomon kneels in front of an idol of Moloch in the centre foreground while one of his mistresses and a crowd of men observe him from behind.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/106574|title=Solomon's Idolatry {{!}} The Art Institute of Chicago|website=www.artic.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-06-19}}</ref>
''[[Herod the Great|Herod]] and [[Herodias]]'': Herod and Herodias sit at a table while their daughter [[Salome]] approaches them, holding a plate bearing the head of St. John the Baptist.<ref>{{Citation|last=Lucas van Leyden|title=Herod and Herodias|date=c. 1512|url=http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.37143.html|access-date=2017-06-19}}</ref>
''The Poet [[Virgil]] Suspended in a Basket:'' Virgil is shown stranded in a basket hung on the side of a tower in the town square, with a jeering crowd below him.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/the-poet-virgil-suspended-in-a-basket-block-6-from-a-series-of-6-the-large-power-of-women-86696|title=The Poet Virgil Suspended in a Basket (Block 6 from a series of 6, The "large" Power of Women)|date=2016-04-27|work=Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|access-date=2017-06-19|language=en|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307205037/http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/the-poet-virgil-suspended-in-a-basket-block-6-from-a-series-of-6-the-large-power-of-women-86696|archive-date=7 March 2017}}</ref>
==== Small Power of Women (1517—) ==== ''The [[Fall of Man]]'': In the foreground, Adam and Eve are around the tree of knowledge of good and evil, with the serpent wrapped around the trunk and holding an apple. In the background, an angel drives Adam and Eve out of paradise.<ref name=SmallPower />
''[[Jael]] Killing [[Sisera]]'': In the foreground, Jael hammers a tent peg into Sisera's ear as he lies on the ground. In the middle ground on the right, Jael points out the foreground scene to a group of armed Israelites. In the background on the left, Sisera drinks from a goblet given to him by Jael.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/364657|title=Lucas van Leyden {{!}} Jael Killing Sisera, without ornamental frame |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|access-date=2017-06-19}}</ref>
''[[Samson]] and [[Delilah]]'': Same as woodcut of larger size. Delilah sits a bed of rocks while Samson lies sleeping in her lap. She holds his hair in one hand and cuts it with a knife.<ref name="auto"/>
''[[Solomon]]'s Idolatry'': Same as woodcut of larger size. King Solomon kneels in front of an idol of Moloch in the centre foreground while one of his mistresses and a crowd of men observe him from behind.<ref name="auto1"/>
''[[Jezebel]] Promising Naboth's Vineyards to [[Ahab|King Ahab]]'': Jezebel stands beside her husband King Ahab of Israel, who is lying on his bed in his room.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/364694|title=Lucas van Leyden {{!}} Jezebel Promising Naboth's Vineyards to King Ahab |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|access-date=2017-06-19}}</ref>
''[[Herod the Great|Herod]] and [[Herodias]]'': In the foreground, Salome holds a plate bearing the head of St. John the Baptist in front of Herod and Herodias, who are sitting at a table. Through a window on the back wall, St. John the Baptist is seen being beheaded.<ref name=SmallPower />
== Collections == Today, Lucas's work is held in the permanent collections of several institutions worldwide, including the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]],<ref name=":2" /> the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]],<ref name=":1" /> the [[British Museum]],<ref name=LargePower /> the [[Princeton University Art Museum]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Dance of the Magdalen (x1940-37)|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/3470|access-date=2021-06-04|website=artmuseum.princeton.edu|language=en}}</ref> the [[Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Promenade|url=https://www.boijmans.nl/en/collection/artworks/61306/The-Promenade/Lucas-van-Leyden|access-date=2021-06-04|website=Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen|language=en}}</ref> the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Fool and a Woman|url=https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/261353|access-date=2021-06-04|website=philamuseum.org|language=en}}</ref> the [[Fralin Museum of Art]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lucas van Leyden (Lucas Huygensz. van Leyden)|url=https://collection.museum.virginia.edu/artist-maker/info?query=[Exhibitions]_ID%20%3D%20%2244%22&sort=2&page=14}}</ref> the [[Brooklyn Museum]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brooklyn Museum|url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/73893|access-date=2021-06-04|website=www.brooklynmuseum.org}}</ref> the [[Ashmolean Museum]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=St. Jerome|url=https://collections.ashmolean.org/collection/browse-9148/object/49297}}</ref> the [[Detroit Institute of Arts]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=David Playing the Harp before Saul|url=https://www.dia.org/art/collection/object/david-playing-harp-saul-52657|access-date=2021-06-04|website=www.dia.org|language=en}}</ref> the [[Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=David praying|url=https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/43457|access-date=2021-06-04|website=collections.tepapa.govt.nz}}</ref> the [[Worcester Art Museum]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lucas van Leyden – People – Worcester Art Museum|url=https://worcester.emuseum.com/people/6841/lucas-van-leyden;jsessionid=C84F8B6718CBF90A88B0BB00D0BD985C|access-date=2021-06-04|website=worcester.emuseum.com|language=en}}</ref> the [[Clark Art Institute]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Golgotha|url=https://www.clarkart.edu/artpiece/detail/golgotha|access-date=2021-06-04|website=www.clarkart.edu}}</ref> the [[University of Michigan Museum of Art]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Exchange: The Milkmaid|url=https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/19407/view|access-date=2021-06-04|website=exchange.umma.umich.edu}}</ref> and the [[Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Card Players|url=https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/leyden-lucas-van/card-players|access-date=2021-06-04|website=Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza|language=en}}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery heights="200" mode="packed" caption="Paintings"> File:Lucas van Leyden 008.jpg|''[[Annunciation]]'', 1522 File:Lucas van Leyden 010 reconstruction 01.jpg|''[[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin]] and [[Christ Child|Child]] with [[Mary Magdalene|Mary Magdalen]] and a donor'', 1522 File:Leyden, Lucas van — Healing of Blind Man of Jericho (triptych) — Hermitage Museum, ГЭ-407.jpg|''[[Healing the blind near Jericho|Healing of blind man]] of Jericho'', triptych [[Transfer of panel paintings|transferred to single canvas]], 1531 File:Leyden Bearing of the Cross.jpg|''Bearing of the Cross with [[Saint Veronica|Veronica]]'', 1520s File:Lucas van Leyden - The Temptation of St Anthony - WGA12935.jpg|''The Temptation of [[Anthony of Padua|St Anthony]]'' File:The Card Players sc1065.jpg|''Card Players'' File:Last Judgement, by Lucas van Leyden.jpg|''The Last Judgement'' File:Attributed to Lucas van Leyden 001.jpg|''Saint Paul'', attr. Leyden File:After Lucas van Leyden 001.jpg|''[[Jesus|Christ]] with [[Crown of thorns|Crown of Thorns]]'', Lost work, After Lucas van Leyden File:Lucas van Leyden - Lot and his Daughters - WGA12932.jpg|''[[Lot and His Daughters (anonymous)|Lot and his Daughters]]'', now anonymous but previously attributed to van Leyden. </gallery>
<gallery heights="200" mode="packed" caption="Engravings"> File:Mohammed2.jpg|''Mohammed and the Murdered Monk'', 1508 File:The Milkmaid MET MM10754.jpg|''The Milkmaid'', 1510 File:Lucas van Leyden 052.jpg|''Joseph Explains Pharaoh's Dream'', 1512 File:Lucas van Leyden Resting Pilgrims.jpg|''Resting Pilgrims'' File:The Poet Virgil in a Basket MET I3.jpg|''Virgil in a Basket'', 1525 </gallery>
<gallery heights="200" mode="packed" caption="Large Power of Women Woodcuts"> File:Lucas van Leyden 051.jpg|''The Poet Virgil Suspended in a Basket'' File:Lucas van Leyden 050.jpg|''Herod and Herodias'' File:Lucas van Leyden 046.jpg|''The Fall of Man'' </gallery>
<gallery heights="200" mode="packed" caption="Small Power of Women Woodcuts"> File:Jael Killing Sisera.jpg|''Jael Killing Sisera'' File:Lucas van Leyden 061.jpg|''Solomon's Idolatry'' File:Lucas van Leyden 062.jpg|''The Fall of Man'' File:Samson and Delilah (cropped).png|''Samson and Delilah'' </gallery>
==See also== *[[Renaissance in the Netherlands]]
==References== ===Notes=== {{notelist}}
===Citations=== <references> <ref name=LargePower>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1849-1027-84|title=The Large Power of Women Series|website=[[The British Museum]]}}</ref>
<ref name=SmallPower>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1895-0122-1157|title=The Small Power of Women Series|website=British Museum|access-date=2017-06-19}}</ref> </references>
===Sources=== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|author-link=Max Jakob Friedländer|last=Friedländer|first=Max |title=Lucas van Leyden|date= 1924}} *{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Elise Lawton |title=The Paintings of Lucas Van Leyden: A New Appraisal, with Catalogue Raisonné|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2bnqAAAAMAAJ|year=1992|publisher=University of Missouri Press|isbn=978-0-8262-0824-8}} {{refend}}
==External links== {{Commons-inline}} * {{Art UK bio}} *[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/94303/rec/1 Prints & People: A Social History of Printed Pictures], an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Lucas van Leyden (see index) *[http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/search.aspx?advanced=colProProductionMakers%3a%22van+Leyden%2c+Lucas%22 Works by Lucas van Leyden at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa] *[http://www.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=1457 Literature on Lucas van Leyden]
{{Authority control (arts)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyden, Lucas Van}} [[Category:Dutch Renaissance painters]] [[Category:Dutch Roman Catholics]] [[Category:16th-century Dutch engravers]] [[Category:1494 births]] [[Category:1533 deaths]] [[Category:Painters from Leiden]]