The Good Samaritan Tending the Wounds - Dirck Volckertsz. Coornhert

A 1549 engraving by Dirck Volckertsz. Coornhert, after Maarten van Heemskerck, depicting the biblical scene of the Good Samaritan tending to an injured traveller.

This engraving depicts the biblical narrative of the Good Samaritan. The composition focuses on the Samaritan, who is shown in a muscular, heroic form, leaning over the injured traveller to apply treatment. The figures are rendered with the anatomical precision characteristic of the period, reflecting the influence of Italian Mannerism on Northern European printmaking. The artist, Dirck Volckertsz. Coornhert, worked after a design by Maarten van Heemskerck, whose signature and the date 1549 appear in the lower section of the print.

In the background, the figures of the priest and the Levite are visible, walking away from the scene. This inclusion provides a narrative contrast to the central act of mercy. The setting includes a gnarled tree and a distant, sketchily rendered cityscape, which adds a sense of place to the biblical account. The horse, standing patiently beside the Samaritan, serves as a compositional anchor, balancing the weight of the figures in the foreground.

Coornhert was a significant figure in the Dutch intellectual and artistic sphere, known for his work as an engraver, writer, and philosopher. His technical skill in engraving allowed for the clear articulation of form and texture, from the folds of the garments to the musculature of the central figures. The print demonstrates the high level of craftsmanship present in 16th-century Dutch printmaking, where the collaboration between designers and engravers was common practice. This work is a clear example of the period's interest in humanistic themes and classical proportions applied to religious subject matter.