Esaias van de Velde

Esaias van de Velde, who was probably apprenticed to David Vinckboons, is regarded as the founder of Dutch landscape etching. A native of Amsterdam, he moved to Haarlem in 1610, where he entered the local Guild of St. Luke in 1612.

The present rare etching is a characteristic example of his very unconventional stylistic idiom and shows him at the very height of his art. A tree with strangely shaped branches in the foreground serves as a repoussoir and opens up the view of a peaceful and atmospheric woodland scene that is enlivened by occasional little staffage figures. Van de Velde uses fine stippling and small strokes of the pen to create a tremendous degree of different textures and a highly original interpretation of nature. A very fine impression with thread margins around the framing line. Before the deletion of the address of the Haarlem publisher Berendrecht. Hollstein records a total of seven impressions of this state in the possession of various museums. Minor ageing, otherwise in very good condition.

EUR 9,500