Rider and Flock on a Bridge
1601 to 1650
Medium
etching
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1946.11.217
Art Historical Context
In the tranquil etching *Rider and Flock a Bridge*, Anthon Waterloo captures a pastoral moment from the Dutch Golden Age, roughly dated between 1601 and 1650. A lone rider guides a flock across a bridge, evoking the quiet rhythms of rural life amid expansive landscapes—a hallmark of Waterloo's oeuvre. As a master etcher and draughtsman active in the 17th, he drew inspiration from the rolling hills and waterways of the Netherlands, blending meticulous detail with atmospheric depth. Etching, Waterloo's preferred medium, allowed for intricate line work that mimicked the spontaneity of drawing wh...
About the Artist
Anthonie Waterloo · 1609–1690
Anthonie Waterloo (1609–1690) was a prominent Dutch Golden Age landscape artist, born on May 6 in Lille, then part of the Spanish Netherlands. Little is known of his early life beyond his mother, Magdalena Vaillant, who joined Amsterdam's Walloon Church in 1621, with Waterloo following in 1630; no records exist of formal training, and he was likely self-taught. Registered as a painter in Amsterdam...