The Death of Adonis
Waterloo's Italianate influences figure prominently in "The Death of Adonis." While the work is undated, we can assume he produced it after his possible sojourn to Italy between 1655 and 1660. His use of line boasts a tense balance between precise control and dynamic movement, akin to the painterly effects of Caravaggio's works. Waterloo makes facile use of the etching medium by using a more shallow bite in the background, creating a realistic sense of spatial depth and atmospheric perspective. He also exploits the tonal capabilities of the technique to create a subtle Baroque sense of soft, filtered light within the landscape scene. The intricate lines of the large tree contrast with the small opening where Adonis' supine body is positioned on the ground, which appears to have a diffused beam of light cast upon it. This juxtaposition draws the eye of the viewer from the swarming detailed background with the massive tree to the restful, calm area featuring the dying Adonis. Waterloo's skillful use of Baroque diagonals further reinforces the pictorial focus on the body of the tragic mythological hero.
Waterloo, Anthonie
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Peasants and Goats near Ruins
A combination of pictorial simplicity and technical inventiveness attracts the viewer to Van de Velde's etchings. Rembrandt's chiaroscuro can be seen in "Peasants and Goats near Ruins," in which the contrast of light and dark sparks life and drama in a simple and tranquil ruin scene. Utilizing clear lines and delicate stippling, Van de Velde depicts the ruins and surrounding low landscape in a straightforward manner. The unadorned natural landscape inhabited by deteriorating ruins and the figure of a peasant gives a realistic glimpse of a quick moment in time, when life and nature are in harmony.
Velde, Jan van de, II
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The Rustic Cottage
Ruisdael's "The Rustic Cottage" is not merely an empirical landscape scene, as there is a complex allegorical meaning to the etching. On one signifying level, Ruisdael has created the symbolic theme of vanitas within this etching, which serves as a moralizing reminder to the viewer of the fleeting nature of earthly life. The dead tree juxtaposed with the rushing stream symbolizes the powerful passage of time, which eventually vanquishes everything. While Ruisdael is emphasizing that even nature is not exempt from the forces of time, the decrepit form of the cottage also stresses the destructive impact of time on human achievements. However, the rushing stream that dominates the left side of the etching
also signifies everlasting life and vitality in Christian emblematic terms. Half submerged in the rushing stream, the dead tree is surrounded by thriving shoots and foliage. The juxtaposition of the dead tree against the lush flora and the flow of the stream symbolizes Christian resurrection.
Ruisdael, Jacob van
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Saint Jerome
Ribera's etching "Saint Jerome and the Angel" is one his most repeated and popular prints. The artistic aspects of Ribera's Saint Jerome are characteristically Baroque in theme and formal approach. Ribera treats the figure of St. Jerome with a careful, almost stipple-like technique, in order to produce an effective naturalistic form. Ribera's endeavor to create a severely emaciated, aging saint was achieved by enriching the light and shadow of the body.
Ribera, Jusepe de
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The Cavalier
The military nature of the cavalier is expressed in the regalia, arms, turn-out, hierarchy of rank and the way in which the men hold their weapons and other attributes. Raeven positions the cavalier in a dignified pose and the movements of the limbs are fluid, yet solid. His long staff creates a dramatic diagonal, which complements the twist in the soldier's body, creating a graceful sense of movement in the engraving. There is little or no background in Raeven's Cavalier, which could be a technique used in emphasizing the emblematic political significance of the figure.
Raeven, Servatius
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The Herd
"The Herd" is one of Potter's earliest pure animal pieces, incorporating a direct observation of the Dutch countryside. He depicts rural life with a novel sensitivity to the play of light and shade. As the title of the etching suggests, Potter is depicting a pastoral landscape scene featuring a young boy tending his cows.
Potter, Paulus
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potter-herd
Beggar in a Large Coat
"Beggar in a Large Coat" (1647) print presents stylistic techniques characteristic of Ostade's etchings, which enliven the figure of the beggar. While focusing solely on the disheveled figure, Ostade applied a detailed study of physiognomy and sure confident strokes that made the peasant figure type identifiable. The etching displays a loose sketchy stroke in the folds of the figure's coat and in the hat's crumpled shape. In addition, the contour of the beggar's body and its expressive posture is described with a fluid hatching.
Ostade, Adriaen van
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The Shipwreck
<em>The Shipwreck</em> dates from c.1638-41. A dramatic seascape, the etching depicts several ships being tossed in rough waters during a violent storm. The craggy vertical form of the castle on the right, the masts of the ships and the horizontal line of the seascape establishes a grid-like design to the composition. However, Claude combines this more ordered structure with a series of dynamic Baroque diagonals seen with the tilted receding masts of the central rocking ship, the slashing lines of the rain and the curved waves.
Lorrain, Claude
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The Flight into Egypt
"The Flight into Egypt" of c.1630-33 contains a number of characteristics of the French Classical Baroque style, as well as specific features of Claude's landscape manner. There are trees placed on both sides of the landscape vista that serve to frame and give pictorial focus to the biblical narrative. The mass of trees on the right side of the etching extend close to the middle of the scene before dropping off abruptly into the landscape distance; this dense concentration of figures and landscape elements on the right is balanced evenly by a vast open area of landscape space on the left side of the print.
Lorrain, Claude
Still Image
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Jacobus De Breuck
"Jacobus De Breuck" is part of a series of portrait prints titled Iconography, which were executed between 1630 and 1632. Jacobus De Breuck, who was a French architect, is posed in a formal, dignified manner with a look of intense seriousness and concentration. The figure, presented in a traditional frontal bust-length view, is modeled in the typical Baroque contrasts of light and dark, and is executed in a controlled, linear technique, a trademark of Van Dyck's work that he developed despite the influence of Rubens' loose, painterly style.
Van Dyck, Anthony
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