The shadow of the burin is extended. Prints by Lucas van Leyden from the Mariano Moret Collection

The exhibition focuses on the first of the Dutch engravers, Lucas Huyghzoon, better known as Lucas van Leyden (Leyden, c. 1489/1494-1533). The exhibition includes 70 prints made by The Durch master and other major artists who, in the 16th and 17th centuries, were influenced by him. All works featured come from the valuable Mariano Moret Collection, except one by Lucas van Leyden in the Museum's own collection of works on paper. Of the 70 prints, 26 are Lucas van Leyden originals, while the others (44) are by artists who either copied the master's prints or created original works themselves. On the roster of artists are Hendrick Goltzius, Jan Saenredam, Jan Muller, Nicolaes de Bruyn and Pierre Firens.

Lucas van Leyden was born in Leyden (Low Countries) in 1489 or 1494 (the available sources do not agree) and died in 1533. He started young, painting his first picture early on, before moving on, shortly afterwards, to the engraving. Despite his relatively short life, his artistic output was large; where he really excelled was as an engraver, as we know of nearly 200 prints on religious and allegorical themes by him. He apparently learnt the idiom and technique of engraving by first producing small works, in which at times his skill clearly fails him, particularly in anatomical descriptions and the use of space. Even so, those early prints had an expressive force and spontaneity that was gradually attenuated throughout his career, as his technique became increasingly accomplished.

Prints selected for this exhibition reveal Lucas van Leyden's elegant line, the stunning finesse of his work with the burin, his love of detail and his virtuosity in capturing the qualities and textures of objects and fabrics, characteristics common to artists of the northern schools. His style is noted in particular for the originality and complexity of the compositions, the subtlety of the almost transparent silvered tones, the delicacy of his elegant figures, the richness of the description of the robes andvestments the characters wear, and many other details besides.

In the engravings of Lucas van Leyden the mystery and elegance of late Gothic combine with the developments ushered in by the Renaissance. An admirer of Albrecht Dürer, van Leyden shared with him an enthusiasm for the force of expression of the engraving, although the Dutchman tried to ration Dürer's influence in his work. He also mixed the naturalism and thoroughness of the Flemish school with the introduction of perspective and landscape, developments proper to the new Italian style. And, finally, the northern tradition of genre scenes featuring popular types with figures placed in contrapposto, usually reserved for heroes and gods, and heir to the sculpture of classical Antiquity. Lucas van Leyden's work surprised and delighted contemporary and later artists alike, who sought to make these features their own and pay tribute by trying to emulate them or copying them in their own engravings. This was certainly the case with Jan Muller and Hendrick Goltzius and their follower Jan Saenredam, as is clear to see in their prints.

On the occasion of the exhibition The shadow of the burin is extended. Prints by Lucas van Leyden from the Mariano Moret Collection, a catalogue has been published. José Juan Pérez Preciado, Assistant curator of Flemish and Northern European Paintings at the Prado Museum, is the author of the text of the exhibition catalogue. This catalogue is the first monographic book published in Spanish language dedicated to Lucas van Leyden oeuvre.