Stuttgart: The Lake, from "German Views"

Art Historical Context

Wenceslaus Hollar’s *Stuttgart: The Lake* offers a serene of a German landscape from the artist’s series “German Views,” created between 1663 and 1665. The small etching captures a tranquil lake scene featuring boats and surrounding countryside, rendered with Hollar’s characteristic precision. As a Bohemian-born artist who spent much of his career in England, Hollar specialized in topographical prints that served both as artistic works and documentary records of 17th-century Europe. Executed in etching—a technique prized for its ability to produce fine, delicate lines—this print exists in only one state, highlighting the artist’s direct and economical approach to the copper plate. Measuring just over two by four inches, the intimate scale invites close viewing, allowing the fine details of water, vessels, and distant shores to emerge. Such works reflect the growing interest in travel and geography during the period, when prints like these helped viewers experience distant places from afar. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1917 through the Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, the etching remains a fine example of Hollar’s skill in transforming everyday landscapes into enduring visual documents. Its focus on natural elements and human activity along the water underscores the quiet charm of his German views.

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...