Apostel Thomas

1589 · Print

May one see it?

Unknown: the museum keeps its counsel

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The owner is known. Whether it is on view today, the museum does not say, and we were not trained to guess.

In the museum's own words — in Dutch

De heilige Thomas ten halven lijve, een speer in de rechterhand. In marge onder de prent twee regels Latijn. Prent uit een serie van veertien.

Rijksmuseum

1579–1587
Pupil: Jan Saenredam
late 1580s
Depression and consumption
From the late 1580s he suffered from depression and consumption; his family life was unhappy.
1587
Founding of the Haarlem Academy
Together with Cornelis van Haarlem and Karel van Mander he founded an academy of art in Haarlem, later known as the Haarlem Mannerist Academy (some sources give 1583 or 1600). There, for the first time in the Netherlands, systematic study of anatomy and drawing from the nude model were introduced.
1590
Departure for Italy
He fled from his wife and, despite his illnesses, set out for Italy — via Hamburg and Munich to Venice, Bologna and Florence. Part of the way he traveled on foot, passing himself off as a commoner, "partly out of a love of mystification."
January 1591
Eight months in Rome
He arrived in Rome in January 1591 and stayed eight months (with a brief sojourn in Naples). He discovered Raphael, was especially impressed by Michelangelo and Giambologna, and studied art from classical sculpture to the masters of the Renaissance.
August 1591
Return to Haarlem with a collection of drawings
He returned to Haarlem, bringing from Italy a large collection of drawings that he used for the rest of his life; from the Roman material three engravings of classical statues are known, including the Farnese Hercules.