Ovid's Creation of the World
Depicting Faith Through Contrast: An Analysis of Hendrick Goltzius'
The Untangling of Chaos
Henrick Goltzius, The Untangling of Chaos (1589)
Dutch printmaking savant Hendrick Goltzius’ engraved piece The Untangling of Chaos, created in 1589, conveys the motif of separation found in Ovid’s Creation through its visual representation of disorder and contrast and lack of coordination in the piece’s environment, even if the composition of the subject matter conflicts with Ovid’s textual cues.
Goltzius was a German-born printmaker, drawer, and painter, historically sponsored by societal leaders such as Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. Out of his workshop in Haarlem, he created a myriad of prints under the values of technical craftsmanship and precision (traits suitable for a printmaking–a medium traditionally grounded in realism and depicting scenery). As his work, much of which depicted Roman mythology, gained notoriety across Europe, Goltzius journeyed to Italy in 1590 in the pursuit of truer reference material such as statues and paintings to base his work off of. Knowing when he created The Untangling of Chaos, one could imagine Ovid’s work was one of the factors that prompted him on this journey. Once in Italy, he created famous pieces such as his Farnese Hercules.
In this piece, Goltzius employs a wide range of values and basic shapes to reflect the disorder that was present during the creation of the world. In the practice of engraving on paper, applying value can be tricky as it is purely determined by the amount of ink that is applied to the original metal template. Thus, every highlight and shadow and every light and dark shade is made with intention. This purposeful contrast mirrors the effect Ovid achieved by centering his poem around separation. Interestingly, the majority of the print's contrast is due to a light source exuding from the top left portion of the piece. In a scene portraying the first instance of life and nature, the light source is commonly the creator or world itself (as found in Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam). However in The Untangling of Chaos, Goltzius showcases a rare instance of his composition reflecting the explanations of the source material: god is not the source of light in this piece. The light source is an unknown entity–hidden from the viewer in the painting and expressed by the anonymity of god in Ovid’s work. Barring the subjects themselves (the creator, swirls, clouds, and humans), the use of shade is uniform with what Ovid considers balanced and natural versus the matter he regards as confused or disjointed. From the manner in which the creator disrupts the form of the gloomy plumes of smoke to the arch of light he raises on the weight of the heavens (seen in the upper corner of the piece), Goltzius’s use of value impactfully reinforces Ovid’s idea of separation through visual contrast.
Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam (1512)
In addition to shade-based contrast, Goltzius also conveys the motif of separation through his composition and subject placement. Although it is a more subtle decision, Goltzius’ decision to split the elemental disorder (the elliptic tube-like beams controlled by the creator) indicates detachment in the world’s origin. His choice to place these beams as well as the human faces and fuming smoke every which way in no particular orientation reflects the way in which the disordered mass was once uncontrollable. Hence, Goltzius’ utilization of separation in the structure of the print alludes to the messy and incompatible nature of Earth in its primal form.
However, the composition of the piece also exposes Goltzius’ largest inconsistency with Ovid’s work: the importance of the creator himself. To maintain emphasis on the method of creation itself and to contrast the narrative of Genesis, Ovid purposefully omitted the identity of the divine entity who separated the disordered mass, opting to simply label him as “whichever god” (line 32). Goltzius ignores this subtlety by placing the creator perfectly in the middle of the piece as the first thing the eye is drawn to. Although Goltzius very well could have dismissed this idea in the vein of making a widely accessible piece, this is where the two pieces diverge into their own stories.
Gege Akutami, Hidden Inventory: Part 2, Jujutsu Kaisen (2023)
Despite the aforementioned emphasis on the creator himself, Goltzius’ The Untangling of Chaos is ultimately a very faithful interpretation of Ovid's creation story. From the masterful use of deep values and contrast to the composition of the piece, the Dutchman expertly conveys the core idea of separation found in Ovid’s source material. Goltzius and Ovid have created compelling renditions of our world’s origin by departing from the single western narrative of the beginning, shining a new cultural perspective upon Latin students centuries later.