Seven boys
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 5 13/16 × 8 1/8 in. (14.8 × 20.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.1402
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate etching, created between 1646 and 1654, captures seven boys gathered among trees in a charming outdoor scene. The work reflects a collaboration between Flemish painter Pieter van Avont, known for his lively depictions of children in landscapes, and renowned etcher Wenceslaus Hollar, who translated such designs into print. Measuring just under six by eight inches, the small sheet invites close viewing, revealing the boys’ playful poses and the intricate foliage that surrounds them. Etching was a favored medium in the seventeenth century for its ability to convey fine detail and t...
About the Artist
Wenceslaus Hollar|Pieter van Avont|Pieter van Avont · 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...