Coronis Changed into a Crow

Goltzius employs a dense network of fine, intersecting lines to render both the delicate anatomy of the woman and the feathered texture of the emerging crow. The engraving demonstrates his command of hatching and cross‑hatching to model light, shadow, and movement. The elaborate ornamentation of the surrounding branches reflects the ornamental excess typical of Northern Mannerist prints, while the precise line work reveals the artist’s meticulous approach.

Hendrick Goltzius, celebrated as the pre‑eminent Dutch engraver of the early Baroque, produced this work during a prolific period of his career. Though originally printed on laid paper in the late sixteenth century, surviving copies have passed through several European collections, illustrating the continued interest in his mythological subjects among connoisseurs of printmaking.