Resurrection - Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert

A masterful Baroque engraving by Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert, after Peter Paul Rubens, depicting the dramatic moment of the Resurrection.

This engraving by Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert depicts the Resurrection of Christ, based on a composition by Peter Paul Rubens. Bolswert was a master of the burin, known for his ability to translate the painterly qualities of Rubens into the precise, linear language of printmaking. The work captures the dramatic tension characteristic of the Baroque period, with strong contrasts between light and shadow defining the muscular forms of the figures.

In the centre, Christ stands triumphant, holding a banner and radiating light. His posture is dynamic, suggesting movement as he emerges from the tomb. Below him, the guards are shown in various states of shock and confusion, their bodies twisted in reaction to the miraculous event. The composition is dense, with the figures arranged to guide the eye through the narrative. A small dog is visible in the lower left corner, a detail that adds a sense of grounded reality to the supernatural scene. The background includes clouds and hints of a natural setting, though the focus remains firmly on the human figures.

Bolswert’s technique involves a sophisticated use of hatching and cross-hatching to create volume and texture. The musculature of the figures is rendered with anatomical precision, reflecting the influence of Rubens’s own interest in the human form. The inscription at the bottom identifies the source of the design as a painting by Rubens, specifically the epitaph for Jan Moretus and Martina Plantin in Antwerp Cathedral. This print serves as a fine example of the collaborative relationship between painters and engravers in the seventeenth century, where the printmaker acted as an interpreter, bringing the grand scale of oil paintings to a wider audience through the medium of paper.