Artwork
Virgo Tiguriensis
Virgo Tiguriensis 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
Overview
Created in 1649, *Virgo Tiguriensis* is an etching by the Czech-born printmaker Wenceslaus Hollar, who spent the bulk of his professional life in England. Executed on a copper plate and printed in monochrome, the work presents a solitary female figure rendered with the fine linear precision for which Hollar is renowned.
Subject & Meaning
The composition shows a woman in a dark, flowing gown trimmed with a white apron and a ruffled collar, topped by a modest hat. She holds a rosary, suggesting a devotional or allegorical identity, while her pose and classical drapery evoke the Baroque fascination with idealized femininity and moral virtue.
Technique & Style
Hollar employed traditional etching methods, incising the image into a metal plate with acid and then drawing the delicate lines with a needle. The resulting print displays his characteristic attention to texture and gradation, using subtle contrasts of light and shadow to model the figure’s form and to convey a sense of three‑dimensional space within the flat medium.
History & Provenance
The etching was produced during Hollar’s London period, a time when he was prolific in documenting urban and rural scenes. *Virgo Tiguriensis* entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it remains part of the museum’s holdings of 17th‑century European prints.
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.
