Woman of Westphalia
Medium
Etching on gray Asian paper
Dimensions
Sheet, trtimmed within platemark: 9 × 6.2 cm (3 9/16 × 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
160061
Art Historical Context
Wenceslaus Hollar's *Woman of Westphalia* (1643) is a delicate etching that captures the essence of 17th-century regional fashion from Germany's Westphalia region. on uncommon gray Asian paper, this print measures just 9 × 6.2 cm, showcasing Hollar's mastery of etching technique. As a Bohemian artist who fled the Thirty Years' War and settled in England under royal patronage, Hollar produced thousands of prints, including detailed costume studies like this one, which document everyday attire with remarkable precision. Etching allowed Hollar to render fine textures—the crisp folds of the woman...
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...