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Hendrick Goltzius

Proserpine, plate five from Demogorgon and the Deities

c. 1588–90
Chiaroscuro woodcut in black and two shades of gray on paper
34.5 × 26.1 cm (13.6 × 10.3 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Although Goltzius's advances in line engraving found many followers, few pursued his equally original exploration of chiaroscuro woodcuts. This is one of a series of six oval-format chiaroscuro woodcuts of male and female goddesses. Persephone was abducted by Pluto to Hades and retrieved for six months each year by Demeter, her mother; with the establishment of this natural cycle, she is considered a symbol of fertility.

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