Hunters Leaving a Forest
1801 to 1825
Medium
etching on beige wove paper (proof)
Dimensions
plate: 28.4 x 22.7 cm (11 3/16 x 8 15/16 in.) sheet: 44.7 x 30.4 cm (17 5/8 x 11 15/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1998.16.1
Art Historical Context
Johann Wilhelm Schirmer's *Hunters Leaving a Forest*, created between 1801 and 1825, captures the quiet drama of human figures emerging from a dense woodland in this delicate etching on beige wove. As a proof impression, it represents an early trial state of the print, offering visitors a rare glimpse into the artist's iterative process before the final edition. Measuring 28.4 x 22.7 cm on the plate, the work exemplifies Schirmer's mastery of Romantic landscape art, evoking the sublime beauty and mystery of nature during Germany's early 19th-century artistic renaissance. Schirmer, a prominent...