Double Goblet
Architecture and Decorative Arts in Prints from the Permanent Collection, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 13-April 10, 1983, no. 6a, as Double Goblet with Two Genii.
Red! Renaissance Italian
and Spanish Textiles, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, August 27, 2007-February 18,
2008, August 15, 2012-Feburary 17, 2013, June 20, 2018-January 6, 2019.
Artists who made small-scale prints, such as this engraving by Hans Sebald Beham, were called Kleinmeisters (Little Masters) in Germany. Beham was a prodigious printmaker whose diverse subject matter included biblical themes, historical scenes, portraits and landscapes. He was also interested in Renaissance architectural and ornamental elements, as seen in the scrolling acanthus leaves, dolphins’ heads and putti of the Double Goblet. The artist worked closely with his brother, Bartel Beham (1502–1540), sharing motifs derived from classical antiquity, and was also influenced by prints by the well-known artist Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528). Beham created many prints to be used for functional objects such as playing cards, title pages, patterns for craftsmen and coats of arms,
