8/8

About this artwork

collector's mark: Lugt 240

Art Historical Context

This etching by Johannes Gronsveld, created sometime between 1679 and 1728, exemplifies the refined printmaking traditions of the late Baroque period. At just 129 by 178 millimeters, the modest scale suggests the work was likely intended for private collectors or inclusion in albums rather than large-scale display. The title “8/8” indicates it formed part of a numbered series, a common practice among etchers who produced thematic sets for wider distribution. Etching allowed artists like Gronsveld to achieve delicate, spontaneous lines impossible with engraving alone. The medium’s acid-bitten ...

About the Artist

Johannes Gronsveld · 1650–1728

Johannes Gronsveld (also spelled Gronsvelt or Groensveld, active 1679–1728) was a Dutch engraver working in Amsterdam during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, specializing in reproductive engravings after works by prominent Dutch and Flemish painters. His career coincided with the post-Golden Age period of Dutch art, when the explosive creativity of the mid-seventeenth century h...