Village Road with a Farm and Sheds, from the series, The Small Landscapes (Multifariarum Casularum)
Original title: Village Road with a Farm and Sheds, from the series, The Small Landscapes (Multifariarum Casularum)
kurzbeschreibung
Where many landscape etchings of the period reach for dramatic views, this sheet by Johannes van Doetecum I settles on something almost offhand: a village street with farmyards, trees and two figures in the foreground. The etching was made between 1559 and 1561 and survives here in the first of four states.
Description
An unpaved road runs straight through a wooded setting, its course marked out by delicate hatching. On the right stand buildings with reed roofs, legible as farmhouses and barns. Dense trees and shrubs frame the path on both sides and make up the wood. At the front two people can be picked out, most likely a woman in a hat carrying a bucket, and a child. Light falls evenly, without hard shadows, suggesting a neutral hour of the day.
Context
The series 'Die kleinen Landschaften' came about between 1559 and 1561 at the hand of Johannes van Doetecum I, a Dutch engraver who often worked alongside his brother Lucas. The print belongs to the circle of Antwerp art production, which at the time was turning increasingly toward profane landscape. Small-format landscape series of this kind appealed to collectors and helped spread the landscape genre in printmaking.
Impact
A quiet, idyllic mood emanates from this etching, helped by the even distribution of light and the harmonious interlocking of architecture and nature. The delicate linework and the restriction to black and white give the sheet a clear graphic elegance that draws the eye to the essential elements of the landscape.
Technique
For this etching the lines were bitten into a metal plate. Fine strokes and varied hatching build up textures for ground, foliage and roofs. Printing was done in monochrome black ink on paper; the first state of the plate predates later reworking.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)