Ein Matrisanisch Weib Matrisana M

Two plates in one mount (paired with print 2002.139/254); a figure of a woman, inscribed, Ein Matrisanisch Weib/Matrisana M:/W Hollar fecit 1644[?], by W Hollar, Aula Veneris, 164?
(Woman of the Mátra Mountains of Hungary)

The woman is viewed from the back. It is the same woman as in plate 2002.139/254, in which she is viewed in profile. She is wearing a headscarf and an embroidered apron.

The maker of this print is Wenceslaus Hollar (1607 – 1677), a draughtsman and etcher from Prague. Mainly active in Germany, he visited the Netherlands in 1634 and joined the service of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel in 1636. The earl brought the artist to London where he focused mainly on book-illustration and cartography. He joined Lord Henry Howard in his expedition to Tangiers, but afterwards continued his work as an illustrator. He died in London in reduced circumstances.

Other copies of this print are held in British Museum Online Catalogue, Wenceslaus Hollar . Print Museum Number: Mm,1.144.

Further reading
Colas, R., Bibliographie Générale du Costume et de la Mode. Description des suites, recueils, séries, revues et livres Français et étrangers relatifs au costume civil, militaire et religieux, aux modes, aux coiffures et aux divers accessoires de l’habillement, avec une table méthodique et un index alphabétique, Paris 1933, entry 1465; 1466; 1467.