Wenceslaus HollarCzech, English, 1607–1677Winter and Summer
Can I see it?
Unknown
Where is “Winter and Summer” now? Collection: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Unknown.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Hollar’s rendering of the Four Seasons is very unusual. Rather than following tradition by showing seasonal scenes of peasant labour, he represented how English women modified their ensembles throughout the year. Shielding her face from the sun with a sheer veil, ‘Summer’ cools herself with a fan. The hooded figure of ‘Winter’ cloaks herself in furs and protects her delicate, exposed skin with a mask and fur muff.
Rijksmuseum
Details
- Accession number
- RP-P-OB-11.250
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Rijksmuseum
- Image: Rijksmuseum — public domain
In the life of Wenceslaus Hollar
The whole life4 July 1641
Marries a lady-in-waiting to the Countess of Norfolk
On 4 July 1641 he marries Tracy, a lady-in-waiting to the Countess of Norfolk; they have two children.
by 1642
Enters the service of the Duke of York
By 1642 Arundel had left England, and Hollar passed into the service of the Duke of York, taking his young family with him.
1643–1644
Endures the siege of Basing House with fellow royalist artists
With other royalist artists, notably Inigo Jones and the engraver William Faithorne, he stands the long siege of Basing House; some hundred plates by his hand are dated 1643 and 1644. The Civil War, despite his productivity, adversely affected his income.
1645
Captured by parliamentary forces, he escapes
Hollar joins the Royalist Regiment and is captured by parliamentary forces in 1645 during the siege of Basing House; after a short time he manages to escape.
![Bride, from "Dance of Death", Wenceslaus Hollar, [1651] late 18th century printing](https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/dp/web-large/DP822840.jpg)
