# Jacob Matham artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/jacob-matham/
Profile generated: 2026-05-27T13:27:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1571-10-15
- Death date: 1631-01-20
- Nationality: Dutch
- Movements: Dutch Golden Age printmaking
- Common media: engraving, pen drawing, print publishing

## About Jacob Matham

Jacob Adriaensz. Matham (1571–1631) was a Dutch engraver, printmaker, and draftsperson active in Haarlem during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Baptized on 15 October 1571 in Haarlem, he remained based in the city throughout his career and became one of the leading print artists of the Northern Netherlands. Matham worked primarily in copperplate engraving and pen drawing, producing engravings after designs by prominent contemporaries as well as original compositions. He also operated as a print publisher, issuing works from his Haarlem workshop. His monogram, JM, appears on many surviving plates. Matham's output spans mythological, religious, allegorical, and portrait subjects, and his prints are held in major museum and library collections worldwide. Collectors encounter his work most often in the Old Master Prints market.

## Common works and media

Jacob Matham's surviving works are predominantly copperplate engravings, often executed after designs by other artists of the Haarlem circle, alongside original pen drawings. Common subjects include mythological scenes, religious narratives, allegorical figures, and engraved portraits of contemporary rulers and scholars. Prints range from small-format single-figure plates to larger multi-figure compositions. Editions and impressions vary in quality; lifetime impressions on period paper are more desirable than later restrikes.

## Market and appraisal context

Jacob Matham's engravings appear regularly in the Old Master Prints category at major auction houses. Key valuation factors include the quality of the impression (early strikes from unworn plates are preferred), paper condition and margins, provenance, and subject matter. Works bearing his JM monogram require expert cataloguing to distinguish from workshop or follower pieces. Later restrikes and copies circulate and should be differentiated from lifetime impressions. The large number of Matham prints in public collections means that scarcity varies considerably by subject and plate. Comparable auction records from Christie's, Sotheby's, and similar houses provide the most reliable pricing context for individual lots.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from authority files and museum records with auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when those records are available. For Jacob Matham, biographical data is drawn from the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), Getty ULAN, VIAF, and Wikidata. Market observations are general and should be supplemented with specific comparable sales for individual appraisal use.

## Sources

- RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/53938
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q577044
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/2555318/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500029969
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Matham
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr00032157