Landscape with a Castle Perched on a Rock
1553
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 5/8 x 4 7/16 in. (16.8 x 11.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1919
Accession Number
19.74.12
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the mid-16th century, printmaker Hanns Lautensack captured the dramatic interplay of nature and architecture in *Landscape with a Castle Per on a Rock* (1553), a delicate etching measuring just 6 5/8 x 4 7/16 inches. From his base in Nuremberg, Lautens contributed to the Renaissance fascination with detailed landscapes, blending real and imagined elements in works that evoke the rugged beauty of the German countryside. This print exemplifies the era's growing interest in topography and fortified structures, reflecting both defensive architecture and the Romantic ideal of man-made wonders de...
About the Artist
Hanns Lautensack
Hanns Lautensack, born in 1524 in Bamberg, Germany, was the son of Paul Lautensack, a noted painter and organist. Alongside his brother Heinrich, a goldsmith, the family relocated to Nuremberg in 1527, where Hanns immersed himself in the vibrant artistic milieu of the city. There, he likely apprenticed with a goldsmith, honing skills in fine metalwork that informed his precise etching technique, t...