Wednesday 9 August 2017

Wenceslaus Hollar - part 1

Self-Portrait 1647
etching on ivory laid paper 13.5 x 9.7 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

Wenceslaus Hollar (1607 Prague – 1677 London) was one of the premier etchers and draftsmen of the 17th century, known for his landscapes, architectural and topographical views, still-lifes, and women’s fashions. A prolific artist with 2,525 prints attributed to him.

Hollar left Prague for Germany in 1627, working first in Stuttgart and Strasbourg, and then in 1631 in Frankfurt where he was apprenticed to the engraver Matthaeus Merian. He moved to Cologne in 1632. During trips up the Rhine to Mainz in 1632 and to Amsterdam and other Dutch cities in 1634, Hollar made drawings that led to 24 landscape etchings, published in 1635.

In 1636 Hollar joined the service of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, with whom he travelled along the Rhine to Prague. In December 1636 he arrived in London with Arundel. In 1644 he went to Antwerp after selling a number of plates to Peter Stent; returning to London in 1652, and concentrated thereafter on book illustration and cartography.


In 1666 he was named “Scenographus Regius” by the King, but the Great Fire of London that year brought an end to Hollar’s projected view of the entire city. In 1668-69 he joined Lord Henry Howard on his expedition to Tangiers, but most of his late work consisted of routine illustrations for book publishers. Hollar died in London in severely reduced circumstances.

This is part 1 of a 9-part series on the works of Wenceslaus Hollar:


1628c April
etching 9.1 x 13 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1628c August
etching 9.3 x 12.6 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1630-63 Women - full length:

1630-39c Woman in Full Dress
pen and brown ink with brush and grey wash, on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper 15.3 x 9.1 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1638 Lady with Cap and Muff
etching 13.6 x 7.3 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1640c Lady with a White Handkerchief
etching 13.5 x 6.9 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1642 Bohemian Woman of Good Quality
etching on grey Asian paper 94 x 62 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1642 English Gentle Woman
etching 9.6 x 6.4 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

1642 Gentlewoman from Vienna
etching 9 x 5.7 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1642-50 Noble Woman of England
etching 9.7 x 6.4 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

1643 A Danish Woman
etching 9.3 x 6 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 A Lady of Cologne
etching 9.4 x 6.2 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 A Woman from Antwerp
etching 9.4 x 6.1 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 A Woman of Cologne in her Best Attire
etching 9.1 x 6 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 Citizen's Daughter of Cologne
etching 9.1 x 6.2 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 Cologne Maid
etching 9.4 x 6 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 English Country Woman
etching 7.5 x 6.1 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 English Lady
etching 9.3 x 6.2 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 English Noblewoman
etching 9.5 x 6.3 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 English Noblewoman in Winter Clothing
etching on grey Asian paper 87 x 59 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1643 Frankfurt Merchant's Wife
etching 9.1 x 6 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 French Lady
etching 9.2 x 5.6 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 French Noblewoman
etching 9.3 x 5.9 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 Labourer's Wife from Paris
etching 9.2 x 5.9 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1643 Lady of the Court of England
etching 9.3 x 6.1 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

1643 Merchant's Daughter
etching 9.3 x 6.2 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

1643 Woman of Franconia
etching 9.3 x 6.2
Rijksmuseum, Amsetrdam

1643 Peasant Woman from Bohemia
etching on grey Asian paper
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1643 Prague Girl
 etching on grey Asian paper 92 x 58 cm 91 x 60 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1643 Woman from Prague
etching on grey Asian paper 93 x 60 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1643 Woman of Westphalia
etching on grey Asian paper 90 x 62 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1644 Basel Woman
etching on grey Asian paper 91 x 59 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1644 English Gentlewoman
etching in grey Asian paper 89 x 61 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1644 English Lady
etching 7.7 x 6 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1644 English Noblewoman
etching 8.8 x 5.4 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1644 English Noblewoman
etching 8.8 x 5.8 cm
de Young / Legion of Honour Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1644 Merchant's Wife of Holland
etching 9.4 x 6 cm
Dallas Museum of Art, Texas

1644 Woman of Basel
etching on grey Asian paper 90 x 60 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1644 Woman of Basel
etching on grey Asian paper 94 x 60 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1644-50 Burgher's Wife of Bern
etching on grey Asian paper 91 x 58 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1644-50 Dutch Sailor's Wife
etching on grey Asian paper 92 x 57 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1644-50 Strasbourg Woman
etching on grey Asian paper 91 x 57 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1644-50 Strasbourg Woman
etching on grey Asian paper 92 x 57 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1644-50 Strasbourg Woman
etching on grey Asian paper 92 x 58 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1644-50 Strasbourg Woman in Wedding Dress
etching on grey Asian paper 91 x 59 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1644-50 Woman of Calabria
etching on grey China paper 93 x 59 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

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