St. Anne
Original title: St. Anne
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike the usual depictions of Saint Anne, which show her as a matron with her daughter, Wenceslaus Hollar's 1645 etching "Die heilige Anna" places the young woman alone in view. The motif is limited to face and upper body, and the sheet, measuring 9.2 × 7 cm, survives in a single state.
Description
Turned to the side, the saint appears with her head slightly bowed and her eyelids closed. A close-fitting headcloth wraps the head and is held by a band of hair at the nape. Shoulders and breast remain visible, and a bow fastens the garment at the neck. Nothing else intrudes behind her; the whole arrangement is built around the figure.
Context
The sheet was made in Antwerp in 1645, where Hollar worked for publishers including Frans van den Wyngaerde. The young Anne follows the Catholic pictorial tradition of the period, which emphasized the saint's youthful age. Given the small format, the print likely served as a devotional image or as book illustration.
Impact
The lowered lids and delicate stroke give the saint something reserved and quiet. Fine hatching produces soft transitions, lending the sheet a contemplative, almost intimate mood that invites the viewer to devotion.
Technique
This work is an etching, its lines bitten into an etched plate. Fine parallel hatching and cross-hatching create the shadows and give the print its graphic precision. The plate remained unchanged, so only one state exists.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)