Two Moths and Six Insects
Medium
etching
Dimensions
plate: 8.3 × 11.9 cm (3 1/4 × 4 11/16 in.) sheet: 8.5 × 12.2 cm (3 3/8 × 4 13/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.4946
Art Historical Context
Wenceslaus Hollar's *Two Moths and Six* (1646) is a exquisite etching that captures the delicate beauty of nature in miniature form. Measuring just 8.3 × 11.9 cm on the plate, this print from the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection showcaseslar's mastery as a Bohemian-born engraver who flourished in 17th-century England and the Netherlands. A prolific artist known for his meticulous reproductive prints, Hollar turned his keen eye to natural subjects during a turbulent era, including the English Civil, blending scientific curiosity with artistic precision. Etching, Hollar's preferre...
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...