Varie Figuræ et Probæ
Original title: Varie Figuræ et Probæ
kurzbeschreibung
Wenceslaus Hollar made this etching, Varie Figuræ et Probæ, in 1645. It shows a seated woman studying a sheet that bears a nude figure study. This impression belongs to a series and is the fourth of five states.
Description
A seated woman wears a long, close-fitting gown reaching to her knees, her hair gathered in a knot. In her right hand she holds a large upright sheet showing a small, half-naked man in a seated pose. Her gaze stays fixed on the paper with real concentration, while the backdrop remains flat and undefined. At the top run the inscriptions 'VARIE FIGURÆ ET PRO' and 'Artem pictura incipienda'; at lower left, the signature 'W. Hollar fecit' and the date 'A. 1645'.
Context
Hollar was working in Antwerp in 1645, moving among the art trade and print publishing there. The print belongs to a series of study sheets that served artists as models for rendering figures. The Latin title and the line 'Artem pictura incipienda' (the art of painting begins) point to its didactic purpose. The Bohemian printmaker was known for his exacting etchings and worked for publishers in Prague, Vienna and London, among others.
Impact
The arrangement reads as calm and attentive, since the woman and the sheet form a clear line of sight. Plain linework and the monochrome printing give the page a sober, almost instructional atmosphere. With the woman placed as a viewer of a nude study, the mood turns reflective, prompting thought about how art is made.
Technique
For an etching, the lines are scratched into a metal plate bitten with acid. Hollar used a fine, precise needle technique that yields crisp contours and delicate hatching. The fourth of five states shows a fully worked plate with inscriptions and signature, printed in a dark, even tone.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)