It will ever be a matter for surprise that this small country should burst into the full glory of a great period of art at a time of incessant, strenuous warfare. First the long, exhausting war with Spain; then a war with England; finally, a war with the powerful France of Louis XIV. Within the time limit of these wars lie the dates of the birth of Rubens, and of Rembrandt’s death, marking the culmination of art in the Netherlands. If we look back to earlier days of Dutch engraving, we discern the isolated figure of Lucas van Leyden, the only painter-engraver of fame in the Netherlands at the time of Dürer. After his death no master of similar merit arose to carry on his traditions. Engraving, deprived of eminent guidance, sank to levels of commercialism. Saints’ pictures being always in great demand throughout Christendom, engravers in the Netherlands devoted their energies largely to this field, and that country became the center of production of all kinds of engraved devotional prints. Trained by daily routine practice, the engravers acquired a high degree of dexterity in handling the graver. Whole families of engravers--the Wierix, the Van de Passe, the Galle--devoted themselves to this work, which assumed the character of a _manufacture_ of engravings. One did the figures, another the backgrounds, another again the draperies, ornaments, etc., according to their respective aptitudes. Toward the close of the sixteenth century, this Northern skill in handling the graver was communicated to Italy, and there mastered by Agostino Carracci. In Holland manual dexterity was carried to its height by a virtuoso of the graver, Hendrik Goltzius. His “Pietà” in the manner of Dürer, and a series of large plates, in which he exhibits, in turn, characteristics of this and other noted artists, reveal his technical mastery. They disclose also his power of close observation, which appears to best advantage in portraits such as that of Zurenus. Excellent judgment is shown in the selection of line; the effect is sparkling, brilliant; in fact, this very brilliancy, this cleverness in the telling use of the line, becomes an end to be striven for, and no longer the means only employed to express an artistic thought. This worship of technique carries Goltzius and his numerous followers to extremes of mannerism, where we must leave them and turn to the engravers grouped around Rubens. [Illustration: PETER PAUL RUBENS Paul Pontius] [Illustration: JAN BRUEGHEL Anthony van Dyck]