View of Prague from the Laurentiusberg (Primary Title)
Wenceslaus Hollar, Bohemian, 1607 - 1677, active in Germany, Flanders, and England (Artist)
This sole drawing in the exhibition sheds light on Hollar’s working process. Because this drawing’s dimensions and orientation match those of the final panorama of Prague, it was probably used in the process of transferring the final composition onto the etching plate. The Hunger Wall (a white defensive wall built during a time of famine) effectively separates the metropolis of Old Prague from the pastoral hilly countryside, which served as the repoussoir (a device placed in the extreme foreground to lead the viewer’s eye to the main focus of the composition).
Gift of Frank Raysor
Wenceslaus Hollar. 1607-1677. Drawing, Paintings and Etching, no. D.71, Manchester 1963.
A Celebration of Print: 500 Years of Graphic Art from the Frank Raysor Collection,
VMFA, January 29 - May 22 2011
A Celebration of Print: 500 Years of Graphic Art from the Frank Raysor Collection,
VMFA, January 29 - May 22 2011
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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