St. Matthew

The saint is shown in a dynamic, twisting pose, looking back over his shoulder toward an angel who holds his Gospel book. In the background, a violent scene unfolds within a classical temple where a soldier with a raised sword attacks a group at an altar, representing the saint's martyrdom in Ethiopia. The engraving features the dense, swirling line work characteristic of early Dutch Mannerism.

As part of a series on the Evangelists, this work visualizes one of the four pillars of the Tetramorph, a symbolic system later integrated into Western esoteric traditions to represent the four elements and the four fixed signs of the zodiac (with Matthew/the Man corresponding to Aquarius). Goltzius was a leading figure in the Haarlem circle, where virtuosic printmaking was used to convey complex theological and philosophical allegories.