Landschap met vrouwen die de was doen

About this artwork

verzamelaarsmerk, verso, gestempeld: Lugt 2228

Art Historical Context

**Landschap met vrouwen die was doen (Landscape with Women Doing Laundry *Davide Antonio Fossati,1743, etching, 250 × 365 mm* Created in 1743 by Venetian artist Davide Antonio Fossati this etching captures a serene landscape scene featuring women engaged in the everyday task of laundry by a riverbank. Fossati, known for his detailed topographical views and genre scenes, often drew inspiration from pastoral life during his travels across Europe and Russia. The composition blends natural beauty with human activity, evoking the Rococo era's delight in lighthearted, picturesque vignettes of rural tranquility. Etching, Fossati's chosen medium, allowed for intricate line work and tonal subtlety through acid-etched copper plates, making it ideal for reproducing nuanced landscapes affordable to collectors. At 250 × 365 mm, this print exemplifies 18th-century printmaking's role in democratizing art, bridging elite patronage with wider audiences amid growing interest in everyday scenes. A collector's mark on the verso (Lugt 2228, linked to esteemed 19th-century collector Pierre Firmin-Didot) underscores its provenance, highlighting how such works were treasured for their technical finesse and cultural snapshot of pre-industrial life. A charming window into 1740s Europe! (178 words)

About the Artist

Davide Antonio Fossati · 1708–1789

Davide Antonio Fossati (1708-1795) was a Swiss-Italian painter and etcher who specialized in fresco painting, particularly architectural and decorative works. Born at Morcote, Ticino, Switzerland in 1708, Fossati moved to Venice in 1720 at the young age of twelve, where he would spend most of his professional life working on decorative commissions for noble palaces and important churches across th...