Emmerich
1642–44
Medium
Etching; second state of three
Dimensions
Sheet: 1 7/8 × 6 9/16 in. (4.7 × 16.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Robert Hartshorne, 1918
Accession Number
18.48.1-9
Tags
Art Historical Context
Wenceslaus Hollar’s delicate etching “Emmerich” captures a tranquil riverside view along the Rhine during the artist’s productive years in the 1640s. Created as the second state of three, the small print (just under two inches high) reveals Hollar’s extraordinary precision in rendering light on water, the gentle curves of boats, and the distant outline of the town. As a Bohemian artist working across Europe, Hollar specialized in topographical views that served both as travel souvenirs and historical records for collectors. Etching was ideally suited to Hollar’s meticulous style, allowing fin...
About the Artist
Wenceslaus Hollar · 1607–1677
Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677) was a prolific Bohemian etcher who became one of the most accomplished printmakers of the seventeenth century. Born in Prague, he trained under Matthäus Merian in Frankfurt before entering the service of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, in 1636. Hollar spent most of his career in England, where he produced approximately 2,740 etchings documenting an extraordinary range...