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A Bohemian in London

Václav Hollar captured European history in exquisite detail
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By Tony Ozuna
For The Prague Post
November 14th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Hollar's skills as a draftsman are evident in this rendering of London.
An exceptionally prolific artist of his time, Václav Hollar was foremost a chronicler of lives and lands. He lived most of his life away from his homeland, primarily in London, where he was known by the Anglicized version of his name, Wenceslas. Overall, Hollar’s finely detailed drawings and etchings capture the landscapes and cityscapes, spirit and fashion, politics and related struggles of a time long past in European history.
Hollar was born in 1607 in Prague’s New Town, but, due to the strife of the Thirty Years’ War, he left Prague at the age of 20 to live in Strasbourg, where he worked in a printmaking workshop. The first room of the Kinský Palace exhibit sets the stage with drawings and engravings from the period encompassing Hollar’s early years, including notable works by Jacob Hoefnagel and View of Prague by Johannes Wechter (1606).
The next room displays Hollar’s earliest works, from 1628–36, mostly drawings depicting places he saw on his extensive wanderings near Prague and in Germany, particularly from a longer voyage he made in 1634 along the Rhine to the Netherlands.
In 1636, Hollar met the English diplomat Thomas Howard, earl of Arundel and Surrey, who hired him as a draftsman during a mission to visit Emperor Ferdinand of Austria. Hollar remained in the service of Arundel, returning with him to London to document the diplomat’s growing art collection.
Hollar’s Travels with the Earl of Arundel is a fine color drawing, made with pen and gray ink with brown and gray-blue paint. There is also a remarkable view of Prague from Petřín Hill (done in 1636) and other places he visited in the same period, such as Znojmo and Mainz.
Hollar’s View of Mainz is one of his first panoramic views, and is rare for its conscious use of iconographic symbols of vanity and references to the destruction wrought by the Thirty Years’ War, which decimated Germany more than any other country.
Hollar lived at Arundel’s estate as court artist from 1637 to 1644, making portraits of English aristocrats and landscapes, most notably A View of Greenwich. He also made a number of drawings of London, including one of his most famous works — a grandiose view of the city drawn from the church tower of St. Mary Overy. This drawing is commonly used for any attempts to reconstruct the original layout of London before the Great Fire of 1666.
London also drew out a more curious side of Hollar’s personality, particularly apparent in the details of his cycles depicting the seasons, Four Seasons as Half-Figures. His most famous depictions of the seasons, made in 1643, are symbolized by women in high-fashion attire. His lady Winter is sublime, wrapped in her black velvet cloak, fur collar and hood, with a fur muff and her face partially concealed by a half-mask. Potentially salacious lines are written beneath the figure: “The cold, not cruelty makes her weare in Winter, furs and Wild beasts haire — For a smoother skinn at night, Embraceth her with more Delight.”
Beyond the four seasons, there are other female figures in high-fashion hats, veils, muffs and gowns of the period. The fine details found in these works could only be done by someone privy to the rich ladies at the London Exchange. Hollar’s depiction of the London Exchange is also a noteworthy inclusion in the exhibit.
There are also critical scenes from English history during Hollar’s day, including the trial and execution of the Earl of Strafford (both made in 1641). Following the outbreak of the English Civil War, Hollar moved to Antwerp, where he remained until 1652.
There, Hollar made his famous self-portrait with Prague in the background and autobiographical details beneath it. He also did fine studies of ships, insects, shells, more fur muffs and small animals, including a dead mole and a famous cat’s head with curious eyes with a children’s rhyme written beneath it saying, “A good cat is not greedy.”
There is a room dedicated to his book illustrations. The Christian Zodiake or Twelve Signs of Predestination Unto Life Everlasting, scenes from Aesop’s Fables and more unusual English fables, such as “The Belly and the Members,” are all standouts.
Hollar returned to England in 1652, but the Civil War had radically changed everything. The last room contains a panoramic drawing of London before the Great Fire, and afterward, in ruins. Also on display are prints of the coronation of Charles II in Westminster Abbey, along with curious portraits of freaks and numerous images of ships sailing into port and at sea, during times of both peace and war.
In 1668, Hollar went on an expedition to the English garrison city of Tangier, and his views of the Moroccan city (including one with an English bowling green) depict scenes from colonial history that are rare and powerfully instructional for our own times.
Most of the works on display are from the Czech National Gallery’s Hollareum collection, but others are on loan from the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin, the John Rylands University Library in Manchester and the British Museum in London. After all, Hollar was a true European master, and his works are recognized and treasured far beyond the borders of his Bohemian homeland.

Tony Ozuna can be reached at features@praguepost.com


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