A Stranded Whale on the Beach Between Zandvoort and Wijk aan Zee
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 16 5/16 × 21 7/16 in. (41.5 × 54.5 cm) Plate: 10 7/8 × 16 11/16 in. (27.7 × 42.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Clifford A. Furst, by exchange, 1974
Accession Number
1974.547.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking 1762 etching captures a dramatic moment on the Dutch coast, showing a massive whale stranded on the beach between the towns of Zandvoort and Wijk aan Zee. Created through the collaborative efforts of Jacobus Luberti Augustini and Hendrik Spilman, the print offers a detailed view of the enormous creature surrounded by curious onlookers, highlighting both the scale of the animal and the public fascination it inspired. In the eighteenth century, beached whales were rare and remarkable events in the Netherlands, often drawing crowds and prompting scientific as well as popular intere...
About the Artist
Jacobus Luberti Augustini|Hendrik Spilman · 1748–1822
Comment on works: painter