Prospect of the inner part of Tangier
ca. 1670
Medium
Etching; second state of two
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 3/4 × 8 3/8 in. (12 × 21.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Julie Parsons Redmond, 1960
Accession Number
60.534.23
Tags
Art Historical Context
Wenceslaus Hollar, a masterful Bohemian etcher renowned for his precise topographical views, captures the bustling inner heart of Tangier in this from around 1670. Titled *Prospect of the Inner Part of Tangier*, the small-scale print (4 3/4 × 8 3/8 in.) depicts fortifications, sturdy houses, and horses, offering a vivid snapshot of the city's fortified core. As the second state of two, it reflects Hollar's meticulous revisions, enhancing details in this intricate medium where acid etches fine lines into a metal plate for remarkable clarity and texture. Created during England's brief but strat...
About the Artist
Wenceslaus Hollar · 1607–1677
Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677) was a prolific Bohemian etcher who became one of the most accomplished printmakers of the seventeenth century. Born in Prague, he trained under Matthäus Merian in Frankfurt before entering the service of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, in 1636. Hollar spent most of his career in England, where he produced approximately 2,740 etchings documenting an extraordinary range...