47 - Julius Goltzius,

Julius Goltzius, Dutch c.1550-1595- Mein Greit; mein Greit: a soldier bidding farewell to his wife; engraving on paper, signed 'Julius Goltius Sculp:' (within plate, at the centre), 16.8 x 29 cm. Provenance: Albert van Loock (c.1917-2011). Note: The inscription reads: 'Mein Greit; mein Greit; ich muss da von So baldt ich hör die Sturmklock schlon Och man wie bist du nu so stawr Dis leiden valt mir vill zu saur' In English: 'My darling, my darling,* I must depart as soon as I hear the alarm bell toll. Oh husband, why are you now so rigid? This suffering is far too bitter for me.' *'Griet' or 'Greit' can be read both as the diminutive for Margaret (Margriet, Margarete, or Margarita), and as a colloquial word for "girl", "sweetheart", or "darling". Under the signature, the engraving bears a number '1', indicating that this is the first print of a narrative series of 'Bauernpaar': a common genre, often satyrical, regarding the love and everyday life of farmers and countrymen and women. The soldier and the bell toll are allusions to the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648), during which this plate was probably engraved. The present impression is likely from the early 17th century. Julius Goltzius was a printmaker and publisher born in Antwerp. He was the son of Hubert Goltzius (1526-1583), also a printmaker, publisher, and humanist. Goltzius was the brother-in-law of Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502-1550), who would become father-in-law to Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525/30-1569).