Artwork
XXX: Thirty Years
XXX: Thirty Years is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Crispijn van de Passe I. It dates from 1599 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Crispijn van de Passe I produced the engraving titled XXX: Thirty Years around 1599. Executed on laid paper, the work is a black‑and‑white print now in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The composition presents a bustling urban scene populated by figures and architectural elements, framed by a Latin inscription along its border.
Subject & Meaning
At the foreground, a woman dressed in elaborate attire holds a scroll, accompanied by a kneeling child who gazes upward. A second child rests on the ground, propped against a rock, while a soldier stands near a building in the distance. The background reveals a cityscape with towers, ships on a river, suggesting a narrative of civic or moral instruction conveyed through the Latin text.
Technique & Style
Van de Passe employed fine, cross‑hatching lines to model light and shadow, rendering the textures of clothing, flesh, and stone with considerable detail. The engraving’s use of laid paper provides a subtle grain that enhances the tonal variations. The precise line work and controlled tonal gradations are characteristic of Northern European printmaking at the turn of the seventeenth century.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1599, the print entered the National Gallery of Art’s holdings through acquisition in the twentieth century, though earlier ownership records are sparse. Its survival in good condition reflects the durability of the paper and the careful handling typical of museum collections.
Context
The work belongs to a period when van de Passe and his workshop produced a range of illustrative prints for books and private patrons. Engravings such as this often served didactic purposes, pairing visual narrative with Latin captions to convey moral or historical lessons to an educated audience.
Artist & collection
Artist
Crispijn van de Passe I (1564–1637) was an artist, born in Arnemuiden.
