Image

Cornelis de Visscher

The Pancake Woman

Description

Maker

Cornelis de Visscher (Dutch, 1628/29-1658

Title

The Pancake Woman

Year

ca. 1650

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

engraving

Supports

Dimensions

Plate/Image: 43.3 x 35.1 cm (17 1/16 x 13 13/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Verso:in pencil, LR:Smith N · 42 - S.e elatXly/ N10In Plate--Along bottom, left of center:Corn VisscherInv. et sculp

Marks: R.I.S.D. Museum stamp in brown ink on verso Partial Watermark:cross in a circle

Identification

State

6th of 6

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of Isaac C. Bates

Object Number

13.1207

Type

Projects & Publications

Publications

  • Books

The Brilliant Line: Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650

Renaissance engravings are objects of exquisite beauty and incomparable intricacy that are composed entirely of lines. Artists began using this intaglio process in Europe as early as 1430. This captivating catalogue focuses on the height of the medium, from 1480 to 1650, when engravers made dramatic and rapid visual changes to engraving technique as they responded to the demands of reproducing artworks in other media. The Brilliant Line follows these visual transformations and offers new insight into the special inventiveness and technical virtuosity of Renaissance and Baroque (Early Modern) engravers. The three essays discuss how engraving’s restrictive materials and the physical process of engraving informed its visual language; the context for the spread of particular engraving styles throughout Europe; and the interests, knowledge, and skills that Renaissance viewers applied when viewing and comparing engravings by style or school.

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

The Brilliant Line
Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650
Sep 18, 2009 – Jan 03, 2010

Label copy

Visscher worked in the dark or “black” manner, using thick lines that are somewhat haphazardly assembled and punctuated by extensive dotting, making his overall composition painterly in its final effect. An independent engraver who worked in Amsterdam for most of his life, his technique nonetheless reflects the influence of the school of engravers surrounding the painter Pieter Paul Rubens (whose works hang at right).

Images of working-class subjects were popular in the Netherlands. Prior to Visscher, both Jan Van de Velde II and Rembrandt van Rijn had made prints depicting a woman selling pancakes, a popular street food. While their compositions offer a vivid slice of street-corner life, Visscher presents an interior domestic scene, where the grandmotherly woman is surrounded by children and a very curious cat.

Related Publications

Related Publications

  • Books

The Brilliant Line: Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650

Renaissance engravings are objects of exquisite beauty and incomparable intricacy that are composed entirely of lines. Artists began using this intaglio process in Europe as early as 1430. This captivating catalogue focuses on the height of the medium, from 1480 to 1650, when engravers made dramatic and rapid visual changes to engraving technique as they responded to the demands of reproducing artworks in other media. The Brilliant Line follows these visual transformations and offers new insight into the special inventiveness and technical virtuosity of Renaissance and Baroque (Early Modern) engravers. The three essays discuss how engraving’s restrictive materials and the physical process of engraving informed its visual language; the context for the spread of particular engraving styles throughout Europe; and the interests, knowledge, and skills that Renaissance viewers applied when viewing and comparing engravings by style or school.

Use & Feedback

Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Cornelis de Visscher (Dutch, 1628/29-1658
ca. 1619/1629 - ca. 1663)
The Pancake Woman, ca. 1650
Engraving on light weight cream laid paper, trimmed to platemark
Plate/Image: 43.3 x 35.1 cm (17 1/16 x 13 13/16 inches)
Bequest of Isaac C. Bates 13.1207

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