A Little Chapel by a Pond, from Six Landscapes
c. 1613-1640
Medium
Etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 9.8 × 19.8 cm (3 7/8 × 7 13/16 in.); sheet: 14.7 × 23.9 cm (5 13/16 × 9 7/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
268060
Art Historical Context
Nestled within Jan van de Velde II enchanting *Six Landscapes* series,A Little Chapel by a* (c. 161–1640) captures the beauty of the Dutch countryside. This Dutch Golden Age artist, active in the early17th century, was a master printmaker whose works bridged the gap between drawing and painting, emphasizing naturalistic scenes of rural life. The etching depicts a modest chapel reflected in still waters, surrounded by lush foliage and distant horizons—a poetic nod to the harmonious blend of spirituality and nature that resonated in Protestant Netherlands during this era of exploration and artis...
About the Artist
Jan van de Velde, II · 1593–1641
Jan van de Velde II (1593–1641) was a Dutch Golden Age printmaker and engraver whose work represents one of the high points of early seventeenth-century Dutch graphic art. Son of the calligrapher Jan van de Velde I, he was born in Delft and trained as an engraver, likely under or in close contact with the Haarlem printmaking tradition that was producing some of the most ambitious graphic work in E...