The Colossus of Rhodes

Celebrated as one of the wonders of the ancient world, the Colossus of Rhodes was a gilded sculpture of the sun god Helios constructed in the third century BC. Heemskerck has followed later tradition in mistakenly depicting the vast figure positioned over the entrance to the city’s port. In the foreground, a sculptor crowned with laurels studies a sketch and supervises a team of craftsmen. This drawing was made as a design for a print.