Night Scene with Fisherman Standing by a Fire
17th century
Medium
Etching; state II
Dimensions
sheet: 5 x 9 1/8 in. (12.7 x 23.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Grace M. Pugh, 1985
Accession Number
1986.1180.1411
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the moonlit hush of a 17th-century Dutch coastline, Reinier Noomsbetter known as Zeeman, "Sailor," for his seafaring obsessions—captures the quiet drama of *Night Scene with Fisher Standing by a Fire*. etching from the Dutch Golden Age depicts a solitary fisherman warming himself by a flickering blaze, with boats faintly outlined against the dark waters. Nooms (1623–1667), a master of maritime imagery, drew from his own experiences at sea to evoke the rugged daily life of Dutch fishermen, whose labors fueled the era's booming trade and naval prowess. Crafted as an etching in state II—a ref...
About the Artist
Reinier Nooms, called Zeeman
Reinier Nooms, known as Zeeman ("sailor" in Dutch), was a prominent Dutch maritime painter, draftsman, and etcher of the Golden Age, born around 1623 or 1624 in Amsterdam and dying there in 1664 at about age 40. Before turning to art around 1643, he led a rough life as a professional seaman, which informed his unparalleled accuracy in depicting ships, ports, naval battles, and coastal scenes—knowl...