Lucas Kilian
Lucas Kilian (Lucas Kilianus Augustanus; 1579–1637) was a German engraver and etcher from the Kilian family of engravers in Augsburg. He became renowned as an engraver in the city of Augsburg working for the Custos workshop founded by his step father. He produced portraits, mythological drawings as well as anatomical illustrations.
Also recorded as L.K. · Lukas Kilian
Lucas Kilian

Lucas Kilian · The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland · CC0
- Name
- Lucas Kilian
- Born
- 1579
- Birthplace
- Augsburg, Germany
- Died
- 1637
- Known for
- Engraving
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- printmaker · draftsperson · graphic artist
- Fields
- portrait
- Languages
- German
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Lucas Kilian (Lucas Kilianus Augustanus; 1579–1637) was a German engraver and etcher from the Kilian family of engravers in Augsburg. He became renowned as an engraver in the city of Augsburg working for the Custos workshop founded by his step father. He produced portraits, mythological drawings as well as anatomical illustrations.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q5908386 · wikipedia · Lucas Kilian
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is German. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are portrait. Places of work recorded in the authority are Augsburg. Work by Lucas Kilian is recorded in the collections of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Finnish National Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria and Nationalmuseum.

New ABC Booklet: O, 1627, by Lucas Kilian
Lucas Kilian · The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland

New ABC Booklet: I, 1627, by Lucas Kilian
Lucas Kilian · The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Lucas Kilian • Born — 1579 • Birthplace — Augsburg, Germany • Died — 1637 • Place of death — Augsburg, Germany • Known for — Engraving • Family — Kilian family
Biography
Biography
• Illustration — Portrait of Johann Fürleger by Lucas Kilian Kilian was born in Augsburg, the son of Silesian goldsmith Bartholomaus Kilian the elder and Maria Pfeiffelmann. After his father's death in 1588, his mother remarried Dominicus Custos and he and his brother Wolfgang became his pupils. He also trained in Venice from 1601 to 1604 under Hendrick Goltzius and worked briefly in the printing shop of Giusto Sadeler. He returned to Augsburg to work with Wolfgang following the death of his step father. He specialized in portraits, mythology and ornaments. Kilian's engraved portrait of Albrecht Dürer, based on a Dürer self-portrait from a copy of Dürer's Feast of the Rosary by Johann Rottenhammer, "became one of the best-known representations of Dürer to posterity." He is also known for his engravings after Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem. His anatomy broadsides, Catoptri Microcosmici ('Mirrors of the Microcosm'), produced after designs by the medical doctor Johannes Remmelin and published by Stephan Michelspacher, were much reprinted after their original publication in 1613, including a 1615 pamphlet, a 1619 book, reprints in German, Latin, Dutch and English, as well as a 1754 Italian plagiarism. Another famous work was a detailed bird's eye view cityscape of Augsburg produced in 1626. Lucas and Wolfgang had prominent patrons in Philipp Hainhofer and the Fugger family. Nearly 1050 works have been identified as being made by Lucas. Lucas married Barbara Miller (d. 1620) in 1604 and died in Augsburg in 1637. The family business declined following the Thirty Years War but the next generation, led by Wolfgang's sons Bartholomäus and Philipp Kilian who trained in France and Italy became book illustrators in the baroque style.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1579
Lucas Kilian born at Augsburg.
1637
Lucas Kilian died at Augsburg.
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Lucas Kilian in the RKD
- 2.Bartram, Giulia. Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy, The British Museum Press, London, 2002, pp.88–89.
- 3.Schmidt, Suzanne Karr. "Printed Bodies and the Materiality of Early Modern Prints," Art in Print, vol. 1, no. 1 (May–June 2011).
- 4.K. G. Saur. Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon - Internationale Künstlerdatenbank. 2021.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q5908386: Lucas KilianWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
The authorities additionally record the headings L.K. and Lukas Kilian. His recorded language was German. He was the child of Bartholomäus Kilian I and Maria Pfeiffelmann.
Identity and origins
Recognition and collections
Work by Lucas Kilian is
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Finnish National Gallery and National Gallery of Victoria
Kilian, Lucas, Oxford Art Online, 2003
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Prints
4,138 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Lucas de WaelEngraver
- Lucas Franchoys the YoungerEngraver
- Lucas GasselEngraver
- Lucas JennisEngraver
- Lucas van LeydenEngraver
- Lucas van UdenEngraver
- Lucas Victor SchaefelsEngraver
- Lucas Vorsterman the ElderEngraver
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