How far does the apple fall from the tree? Just as certain traits, abilities, and resources might be inherited from a parent, professions traditionally were as well. This exhibition tells the stories of 16 printmaking families active in European cities from Antwerp to Prague in the 16th and 17th centuries. In some cases, families appear artistically tight-knit, developing a “house style” to a degree that the works of individual members are almost indistinguishable from one another and their “brand” is maintained. In other instances, members of the younger generation struck out on their own, venturing far across Europe to seek new patrons and updating their style to suit changing tastes (although still trading on their parents’ reputations). The copperplates of famous relatives were valuable inheritances that, through reprinting, prolonged the legacies of certain artistic dynasties for several centuries.
Drawing from the Blanton’s collection of historical European art, A Family Affair presents prints, drawings, and paintings created by some of the continent’s most fascinating artistic families, revealing patterns of inspiration, rivalry, and changing family fortunes.
The second part of this exhibition, A Family Affair: Artistic Dynasties in Europe (Part II, 1700–1900), opens June 28, 2025.
Curated by Holly Borham, Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings and European Art, and Sarah Bane, Assistant Curator, Prints & Drawings, Blanton Museum of Art.
Hendrick Goltzius, Aether, plate six from Demogorgon and the Deities, 1588-1590, chiaroscuro woodcut from three blocks, tone blocks printed in ochre and brown, 13 7/8 × 10 5/8 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, 1983.48
Jacob Matham, Summer, plate 2 from The Seasons, after Hendrick Goltzius, 1589, engraving, 10 × 10 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.2040
Jan van de Velde II, The Sorceress, 1626, etching and engraving, 8 7/16 × 11 1/4 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, 1981.47
Hendrick Goltzius, The Dragon Devouring the Fellows of Cadmus, after Cornelius van Haarlem, 1588, engraving, 9 7/8 × 12 3/8 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, 1988.19
Hieronymus Wierix, The Entombment, after Otto van Veen, 1575, engraving, 11 7/8 × 9 1/16 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.1603
Adriaen Jacobsz Matham, Portrait of a Man, after Frans Hals, 1626, pen and ink on vellum, 10 × 7 11/16 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.1650
Johann Theodor de Bry, Ornament with Christ at the House of Martha and Mary, from Knife-Handles and Ornaments for Goldsmiths, after Maarten de Vos, 1584, engraving, 1 3/4 × 1 1/16 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.2111
Cornelis Bloemaert, Five Drinkers, plate 11 from Pastorales, after Abraham Bloemaert, 1625, engraving, 4 3/16 × 6 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.2379
Jan de Visscher, The Black Archer, after Cornelis Visscher, circa 1670, engraving and etching, 13 1/8 × 11 1/8 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.2550
Aegidius Sadeler II, Mechti Kuli Beg, 1605, engraving, 11 × 8 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.2713
Daniel Hopfer, Christ Blessing the Virgin, circa 1518-1520, etching, 11 1/2 × 5 7/8 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.84
Salvatore Castiglione, Jacob Asking for Laban, 1650–1660, oil on canvas, 30 11/16 x 33 1/16 in. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Suida-Manning Collection, 2017.101
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, The Nativity with God the Father, 1647–1651, etching, 8 1/4 × 16 1/16 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Gift of Julia and Stephen Wilkinson in honor of Francesca Consagra, 2017.21