Portrait of Frederick de Vries and His Dog

Discussion

FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

The inscription in the center states: "I dedicate [this work] to the excellent painter Dirck de Vries in Venice out of friendship and to represent his absent son." The inscription in the bottom margin, written by the Dutch scholar Petrus Scriverius (or Peter Schrijver, 1576–1660), reads: "You may not understand what is contained in this work: Here is the meaning for you in a few words. Simplicity seeks and loves faithfulness. The faithful dog and the innocent boy, that Goltzius faithfully rendered with a Phidian hand in copper." Goltzius made this print for his friend the painter Dirck de Vries (Netherlandish, active 1590–1609) to let him know how his son was progressing under Goltzius’s care in the Dutch city of Haarlem. The two artists had met in Venice, where de Vries still lived. Phidias, referred to in the inscription, was an ancient Greek sculptor whose works were celebrated for their classical forms and their expressions of noble and moral character.

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