Herberg bij de Grotta della Ninfa Egeria
Medium
etching
Dimensions
127; 180
About this artwork
verzamelaarsmerk, verso linksonder, gestempeld: Lugt 240
Art Historical Context
Bartholomeus Breenbergh’s 1640 etching *Herberg bij de Grotta della Ninfa Egeria* captures a quiet corner of the Roman countryside that blends everyday travel with classical myth. A Dutch artist who spent several years in Italy, Breenbergh became one of the leading “Italianate” printmakers of the Dutch Golden Age. His small, finely worked plates brought the light, ruins, and atmospheric landscapes of Rome to collectors north of the Alps who could not make the journey themselves. The subject is the grotto sacred to Egeria, the nymph who, according to legend, advised King Numa Pompilius. By the...
About the Artist
Bartholomeus Breenbergh
Probably was apprenticed in Amsterdam. He was one of the early Dutch italianates, that is, northern artists who travelled to Italy in the 1620s and were inspired by southern landscapes. On his return, he settled in Amsterdam and his landscapes were developed as more severe and monumental, often with historical subjects; strongly influenced by the Pre-Rembrandtists. Comment on works: Landscapes; Ru...