Zü Cölln (Cologne), from "European Views"
Medium
Etching; first state of two
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 1/4 in. × 5 in. (8.3 × 12.7 cm) Trimmed on and just outside platemark
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.17-407
Tags
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, where Wenceslaus Hollar'sZü Cölln (Cologne), from " Views"* (1643) offers a glimpse into 17th-century Europe. intimate etching, measuring just 3¼ × 5 inches, captures a panoramic vista of Cologne—then a bustling Rhineland hub—with its iconic churches piercing the skyline, sturdy windmills turning in the breeze, and simple fences marking the rural edges. As a first state of two, this rare impression preserves Hollar's initial lines before any revisions, making it a prized example of the artist's unfiltered vision. Holl...
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...