Maerten van Heemskerck (1498–1574)
Colossus of Rhodes
1570
Pen and brown ink, contours incised for transfer
Samuel Courtauld Trust: Witt Bequest, 1952
The Colossus of Rhodes was constructed in the third century BC and represented the gilded sun god Helios. Heemskerck has followed later tradition in depicting the massive bronze figure straddling the entrance to the city's harbor. In the foreground, an architect crowned with laurels studies a sketch and supervises a team of craftsmen. This drawing was made as a design for a print.