The film is a creative interpretation of the life of
Hendrik Goltzius, a late 16th-century Dutch artist. In the film, Goltzius is portrayed as seducing the Margrave of
Alsace to obtain funding for a printing press and to publish illustrated books. Goltzius promises him an extraordinary book of pictures of the
Old Testament stories, including tales of the temptation of
Adam and Eve,
Lot and his daughters,
David and
Bathsheba,
Joseph and
Potiphar's wife,
Samson and
Delilah, and
John the Baptist and
Salome. To tempt the Margrave further, Goltzius and his printing company offer to perform dramatizations of these erotic stories for his court.
Goltzius and the Pelican Company is the second feature in Greenaway's film series "Dutch Masters", which includes the previous film
Nightwatching. The third entry in the series was to focus on
Hieronymus Bosch and its release was planned to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Bosch's death in 2016. ==Cast==