Title Page, Divers Anticke Faces
Original title: Title Page, Divers Anticke Faces
kurzbeschreibung
A gaping mouth that turns into a fountain opens Wenceslaus Hollar's series Diverse Anticke Faces from 1677. This title plate, an etching, survives here in the second of two states and served as the frontispiece to the collection.
Description
A human face fills the sheet, but its mouth has been reimagined as a fountain. Curly hair grows symmetrically upward and to the sides, while the empty background throws the gaze back onto the face. Hatching built from many fine strokes models the features and the locks of hair. Along the bottom edge runs an inscription in clear handwriting.
Context
Hollar, an etcher from Bohemia, had drawn the Diverse Anticke Faces as early as the 1660s; the series was printed in Antwerp in 1677. Grotesques of this kind belonged to the standard repertoire of Baroque ornament and were often used by craftsmen as models. Jacob van Meurs acted as publisher of the series, for whom Hollar worked.
Impact
The precisely guided needle and the mirror-like arrangement give the plate a calm balance. At the same time, the fusion of face and fountain produces a surreal, almost playful quality that invites lingering and looking closer.
Technique
The lines were etched into a copper plate, from which the impressions were pulled. Finely graded hatching and clearly set contours attest to Hollar's assured skill. The existence of a second state suggests revisions or corrections made to the first printing.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)