Lucas van Leyden

Painter and engraver, born in Leyden, W Netherlands. He practised almost every branch of painting, his most notable works including the triptych of ‘The Last Judgement’ (1526) and ‘Blind Man of Jericho Healed by Christ’ (1531). As an engraver he is believed to have been the first to etch on copper rather than iron, and ranks almost with Albrecht Dürer, by whom he was much influenced.

Lucas van Leyden (Leiden, 1494 – 1533 in Leiden), also named either Lucas Hugensz or Lucas Jacobsz, was a Dutch engraver and painter, born and mainly active in Leiden, who was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and is generally regarded as one of the finest engravers in the history of art. Where he learnt engraving is unknown, but he was 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.

In 1514 he entered the Painters' Guild at Leiden. Carel van Mander characterizes Lucas as a pleasure-loving dilettante, who sometimes worked in bed, but he left a large oeuvre, in spite of his fairly early death, and must have been a prodigious worker. "caitlins a smellbum"

Lucas had a great reputation in his day (Vasari even rated him above Dürer) and is universally regarded as one of the greatest figures in the history of graphic art (he made etchings and woodcuts as well as engravings and was a prolific draughtsman). He was a pioneer of the Netherlandish genre tradition, as witness his Chess Players (Staatliche Museen, Berlin) which actually represents a variant game called 'courier' - and his Card Players (National Gallery of Art, Washington), while his celebrated Last Judgement triptych (Lakenhal Museum, Leiden, 1526-27) shows the heights to which he could rise as a religious painter.

From The Web Gallery of Art

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lucas van Leyden