King Jeroboam Making Two Golden Calves - Hans Collaert the Elder

A detailed sixteenth-century Flemish engraving depicting the biblical account of King Jeroboam and the golden calves, rendered with precise line work and hand-applied colour.

This hand-coloured engraving by Hans Collaert the Elder depicts the biblical narrative of King Jeroboam, who established the worship of golden calves in the northern kingdom of Israel. The composition is structured to convey the scale of this historical event, with figures positioned around a central plinth where a golden calf is being installed. The artist employs a clear, narrative style typical of sixteenth-century Flemish printmaking, focusing on the physical labour of the workers and the authoritative presence of the king.

Collaert, a member of a prominent family of engravers in Antwerp, demonstrates a precise approach to line work. The figures are rendered with anatomical attention, while the architectural elements provide a sense of spatial depth. The hand-applied colour palette, featuring muted earth tones alongside primary reds and blues, adds a layer of visual clarity to the complex scene. The inclusion of Latin and French text at the base of the print identifies the subject matter as derived from the Third Book of Kings, chapter twelve. This work reflects the period's interest in moralising historical narratives, often produced for scholarly or religious collections. The print captures the tension between the act of construction and the theological implications of the idol, presented with the technical rigour associated with the Collaert workshop. The scene is framed by the surrounding page of the book, maintaining the context of its original production as part of a larger series of biblical illustrations.