Diana and Actaeon

Cleyn was active in various media and especially projects for decoration in the area of his native north Germany, in Denmark for an extended period, and in England continuously from 1625. With a dedicatory inscription by the artist, this drawing was a finished work, probably for a kind of cultural souvenir album that was popular at the time in Central Europe. Precious in its rendering, dependent upon an engraving by Jacob de Gheyn II after Dirck Barendsz., it suggests Cleyn’s early training with his father as a goldsmith and continuing interest in printmaking.