On completion of his studies Paulus van Vianen travelled to France, Germany and Italy. In Prague, Emperor Rudolf II appointed him as his court goldsmith in 1603, and he remained in this role for the rest of his life. The emperor encouraged Van Vianen’s artistic explorations, and under his patronage the silversmith produced dishes, plaquettes and jugs that he decorated with gorgeous repoussé mythological and Biblical scenes placed in realistic landscapes. Van Vianen worked in the auricular style (kwabstijl), an anti-classical form drawing on fabulous sea creatures and parts of the human body, such as bones, ears and sinews. His work bears witness to the technical mastery of an exceptionally talented artist.
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