The Angler
Original title: The Angler
kurzbeschreibung
Two figures sit with fishing rods inside an open-sided shelter on the riverbank — this motif anchors Wenceslaus Hollar's 1650 etching "Der Angler." The rural river landscape derives from a design by Jan Brueghel the Elder and belongs to the Arundel collection. The present impression is the first state of three.
Description
On the left bank stands a small house, open on one side, where two figures sit holding rods. Before them a river winds past, bordered by trees and bushes. Further downstream, more buildings come into view, along with a bridge carrying a single figure and ducks on the water. A clear, bright sky suggests daylight.
Context
The inscription "Brughel pinxit" names Jan Brueghel the Elder as the designer of the source. Hollar made the etching during his Antwerp years, while in the service of the collector Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel. That collection supplied him with numerous prints after other artists' works.
Impact
The view feels calm and idyllic, in keeping with the Dutch landscape art of the seventeenth century. Precise lines, almost topographical in character, and a clearly ordered layout draw the eye into the rural surroundings.
Technique
Etching means biting lines into a metal plate that has first been coated with an acid-resistant ground. Hollar worked with fine, deliberately placed strokes to render foliage and water. That this is the first of three states points to careful reworking of the plate.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)