Portrait of a Young Woman (1647, Met-Objekt 2073)
Original title: Portrait of a Young Woman
kurzbeschreibung
In 1647 Wenceslaus Hollar etched a portrait of a young woman after a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger. The print shows a young woman in traditional dress, wearing a headdress and veil, enclosed within a circular frame.
Description
The sitter wears a traditional headdress adorned with a veil, and a garment with elaborate embroidery. Her expression is serious and pensive, with her gaze directed straight at the viewer. A dark background pushes the figure forward, and a circular frame encloses the portrait. At the bottom of the image are the signature and date.
Context
The etching reproduces a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, who worked at the English court in the sixteenth century. Hollar, a Bohemian printmaker, was known for his reproductive engravings after works by famous masters. The date 1647 falls during his time in England, where he worked for the nobility and the royal household.
Impact
Fine linear work and precise rendering of fabrics and facial features define the sheet. The sitter's serious gaze and the dark surroundings give the portrait a quiet, intimate atmosphere.
Technique
The work was made as an etching, an intaglio process in which the drawing is scratched into a ground layer on a copper plate and then etched. Hollar used fine, parallel hatching to model shadows and textures. This impression is the third of four states.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)