The story of Daniel, Bel and the dragon. Old Master engraving. 9 1/2 x 8 in. From askart.com: Born into a farming family in a small village near Haarlem, Maerten van Heemskerck showed talent as an artist from a early age and, after much struggle, finally persuaded his father to let him study painting. He began his training in Delft and afterwards moved to Haarlem, where he joined the workshop of the Italianate painter Jan van Scorel (1495-1562). Heemskerck himself set off for Italy in 1532 and spent four years studying the landscapes and classical antiquities of Rome. Van Mander noted approvingly that he neither \'frittered away his time nor wasted it drinking and carousing with the Netherlanders, but instead made drawings… of a great many things\'. Heemskerck had a particular fondness for fragments: rather than studying works which had been reconstructed after their rediscovery, he gravitated towards sculptures and buildings which emphasized the tragic ruin of the ancient world. Most of his studies of the ruins, sculptures and more recent buildings in Rome are in the albums known as the Roman Sketchbooks in the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin. His diligence and assimilation of Italianate style also brought him praise from the native Italians whom he encountered during his stay. Vasari spoke approvingly of Heemskerck\'s battle scenes, and the young Northerner was also invited to work on a prestigious project decorating a triumphal arch at the Porta San Sebastiano in Rome in 1536, in honour of a visit of the Emperor Charles V. His collaborators on this commission included Battista Franco (circa 1510-1561) and Francesco Salviati (1510-1563).

As pictured, some toning, staining and torn edges