Artwork
Mulier Bernensis
Mulier Bernensis is an ink print by the Baroque artist Wenceslaus Hollar. It dates from 1649 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
The title at the bottom says *Mulier Bernensis*, and the top notes she’s "a Bürger’s Frau zu Bern" (a citizen’s wife from Bern).
This is a black-and-white portrait of a woman dressed in old-fashioned clothes. She wears a stiff black hat, a ruffled collar, and a long skirt with vertical folds. Her hands rest on her stomach, and the background is plain.
The title at the bottom says *Mulier Bernensis*, and the top notes she’s "a Bürger’s Frau zu Bern" (a citizen’s wife from Bern). The artist signed it in 1649.
Next, look up etching to see how this print was made.
Overview
Mulier Bernensis is an etching created in 1649 by Wenceslaus Hollar, a Czech-born printmaker who spent the majority of his professional life in England. Executed in black ink on paper, the work measures the typical size of Hollar’s portrait prints and bears the artist’s signature and date in the lower margin.
Subject & Meaning
The image depicts a woman dressed in 17th‑century attire, featuring a stiff black hat, a ruffled collar, and a long skirt with vertical folds. She rests her hands on her stomach, set against an unadorned background. The inscription identifies her as a Bürger’s Frau zu Bern, indicating she was a citizen’s wife from the Swiss city of Bern.
Technique & Style
Hollar employed the etching process, incising lines into a copper plate coated with acid‑resistant ground. After exposing the design to acid, the plate was inked and pressed onto paper, producing the fine linear detail for which Hollar is known. The portrait’s clear contours, delicate shading, and restrained composition reflect his meticulous approach to printmaking.
History & Provenance
Born in Prague, Hollar relocated to England where he established a prolific career producing cityscapes, landscapes, and portrait prints. Mulier Bernensis, dated 1649, belongs to the middle period of his output. The work later entered museum collections, and Hollar was interred in London after his death, underscoring his long association with the English art market.
Artist & collection
Artist
Wenceslaus Hollar (Czech: Václav Hollar (Czech pronunciation: ), German: Wenzel Hollar; 23 July 1607 – 25 March 1677) was a Czech engraver, etcher and painter.
