The Swann's Inn, plate six after Pictures of Farms, Country Houses and Rustic Villages (Praediorum villarum et rusticarum casularum icones)
Medium
Etching in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 10.1 × 15 cm (4 × 5 15/16 in.); Plate: 10.4 × 15.9 cm (4 1/8 × 6 5/16 in.); Sheet: 12 × 17.5 cm (4 3/4 × 6 15/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
129664
Art Historical Context
Step into the tranquil world of 17th-century Dutch with *The Swann's Inn*, six from Claes Jans. Visscher II's series *Pictures of Farms, Country Houses Rustic Villages* (ediorum villarum rusticarum casularum icones), created in 1612. Visscher, a master engraver from Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age, captured the charm of rural life through detailed prints like this one, depicting a cozy inn nestled amid thatched farmhouses and winding paths—evoking the everyday serenity of the Netherlands' lowlands. This etching on ivory laid paper showcases Visscher's expertise in the medium, where acid...
About the Artist
Claes Jansz. Visscher, II · 1587–1652
Claes Janszoon Visscher II (1587–1652) was one of the most prolific and commercially astute figures of the Dutch Golden Age print world — a draughtsman, etcher, mapmaker, and publisher whose Amsterdam workshop became one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Born into a family already engaged in the print trade, Visscher learned etching and engraving directly from his father, Claes Jansz. Visscher...