Hercules Defeating Cacus, Hendrick Goltzius, 1588

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Colour woodcuts printed from three separate blocks are mainly known from Italy. Goltzius, who worked in Haarlem, was one of the few artists to use the technique in the Netherlands. He printed his woodcuts in atmospheric grey tones. These prints are extremely rare. Later impressions, printed in the Amsterdam workshop of Willem Jansz Blaeu, are more colourful but far less subtle.