The Horseman
Medium
Etching; third state of four (NH)
Dimensions
Plate: 5 1/2 × 8 7/16 in. (13.9 × 21.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.1406
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Horseman* (0), a delicate etching crafted through collaboration among three 17th-century masters: Wenceslaus Hollar, Bohemian-born virtuoso etcher renowned for his intricate landscapes and portraits; Jan Wildens, a Flemish Baroque painter celebrated for his lush tree studies; and Johannes Meyssens, a Antwerp engraver and publisher. This third state of four (per New Hollstein cataloguing) captures a solitary rider amid a wooded landscape, blending man, horse, and nature in poised harmony. Measuring just 5½ × 8⅜ inches, its compact plate size invites intimate viewing, evoking the era...
About the Artist
Wenceslaus Hollar|Jan Wildens|Johannes Meyssens · 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...