Wenceslaus Hollar

Antwerp Cathedral

Antwerp Cathedral by Wenceslaus Hollar

Artwork Detail

A long religious procession – perhaps bearing holy relics – enters the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp. While the citizens of Antwerp perform their solemn duty, the good-humoured Hollar distracts our attention with fighting dogs and running children. Completely dominating the surrounding buildings, Hollar has described the elaborate architecture of the great Gothic cathedral in considerable detail. This large and ambitious print reveals his skills as a draftsman and his complete mastery of the etching medium.

Extra inscriptions in Dutch and French were added to the plate in 1678 for a book published in Amsterdam. Like the artist himself, Hollar’s etched plates travelled widely and continued to be used long after his death – sometimes into the 19th century.

Title
Antwerp Cathedral
Artist/creator
Wenceslaus Hollar
Production date
1649
Medium
etching
Dimensions
481 x 336 mm
Credit line
Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, bequest of Dr Walter Auburn, 1982
Accession no
M2001/32/44
Other ID
824 Pennington Catalogue Raisonné
Copyright
No known copyright restrictions
Department
International Art
Display status
Not on display

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