Terms and conditions of use
Koblentz and Ehrenbreitstein
(after 1644)
from the Amoenissimi aliquot locorum in diversis provincijs iacetium prospectus (Views of some of the most pleasant places situated in different regions) series, copy after Hollar's series 1643-44
Medium
etching
Measurements
9.2 × 16.7 cm (image) 11.2 × 17.5 cm (plate) 19.1 × 24.9 cm (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest 1923
Gallery location
Rembrandt Cabinet
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
This view of Ehrenbreitstein fortress – mistakenly labelled as Hermenstein Castle – is based on a drawing by Hollar from around 1636. The etching was likely made while he accompanied the Earl of Arundel on his 1636 diplomatic mission to Emperor Ferdinand II in Vienna, a theory supported by Hollar’s inclusion of Arundel’s ship in the distance. At the time, the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48) rendered river travel the safest means of passage through Europe, as land routes were plagued by bands of renegade soldiers. Hollar’s serene drawings of views encountered during the journey to Vienna reveal little of the widespread turmoil he undoubtedly witnessed.
Artwork Details
Catalogue/s Raisonné
New Hollstein 447 (copy); Pennington 724 (copy)
Inscription
printed in ink (in image) c.r.: Hermenſtein
printed in ink (in image) l.c.: Cobolentz
printed in ink l.r.: 12
Accession Number
1278.1284-3
Departments
International Prints / International Prints and Drawings
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest