Study law or become an artist? This question, which is still very topical today, had to be asked as early as the 17th century by the young Wenceslas Hollar, known as Wenceslaus Hollar in English and Václav Hollar in Czech. Fortunately for posterity, Hollar chose the artistic side and created countless drawings and copperplate engravings that still have great artistic and historical value today. Born in Prague in 1607, Hollar was apprenticed to the famous engraver Matthäus Merian in Frankfurt am Main in 1627, where he learnt, above all, his later highly regarded methodology of the topography of cities. During his training and stay in the Holy Roman Empire he met the Englishman Lord Thomas Howard, one of the most important art collectors of his time, and was significantly influenced by him. In 1637 Hollar followed his patron Howard back to England, where he spent the rest of his life.
During his training in Frankfurt and later in England, Hollar began to accept various commissions, including views and topographies of places in Germany, Bohemia, England, the Netherlands, Switzerland and present-day Morocco, as well as copperplate engravings of everyday life at the time, seascapes, depictions of nature and portraits of saints and well-known people. With his attention to detail, his experimentation with colour prints and his diligence, Hollar gradually made a name for himself and soon worked for the British royal court under King Charles I. Numerous books with illustrations followed, including classic editions of Homer or Vergil. After the great fire of London in 1666, in which the city centre of London was almost completely burnt out and destroyed, Hollar produced very detailed maps of London including its destroyed districts. These works as also Hollar's previous topographies of old London belong today to the most important sources about London in the Middle Ages. Because of his works about London, Hollar was sent on an expedition to Tangier and today's Morocco by King Charles II in 1668, whose illustrations and maps are also very important today.
The life of the artist was marked by many strokes of fate, such as the impoverishment of his family during the Thirty Years' War, the English Civil War and the temporary captivity of Hollar, the death of his son James by the Great Plague in London or the Great Fire of London. Hollar himself also lived in poverty for most of his life, more or less despite his talent and diligence, as he had little sense of negotiation and payment and often sold his works below value. Nevertheless, his oeuvre comprises approximately 400 drawings, more than 3000 etchings and more than 2700 printing plates, and his estate is one of the most important sources of early and middle 17th century Europe, due to his attention to detail and the distinctive documentation of numerous historical events. Wenzel Hollar died in London in 1677 in great poverty.
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.jpg "The Town and Castle of Deal, Kent by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Dutch Warships by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Five Boys and a Satyr, 1646 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1375729).jpg "Shell, Hippopus Hippopus by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Lion and Tulip by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Great View of Prague by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Animals and Plants: Leopard with Plants and Insects, 1662 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Hollar-Rostock by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1236013).jpg "Woman with White Veil and Black Hat (Mary Stuart?) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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Verschillende_vogels_(series_title)_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376179).jpg "Peacocks - Various bird species (series title) by Peter van Liesebetten")
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.jpg "Map of Civil War England and a View of Prague, 1632 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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Verschillende_vogels_(series_title)_-_(MeisterDrucke-1361128).jpg "Peacocks. Diversae avium species (series title) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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Verschillende_vo_-_(MeisterDrucke-1369730).jpg "Bustards and a cockatoo; Diversarum avium species (series title); Various birds (series title) by Peter van Liesebetten")
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.jpg "Map of England and Wales, 1644 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Woman Dressed in Black with a Mask, Cap and Muff by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Coronation Procession of Charles II Through London, 1662. by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Coronation Procession of Charles II Through London, 1662. by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Westminster Hall, Interior, with The Trial of the Earl of Strafford by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Coronation Procession of Charles II Through London, 1662. by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Head of a young Black boy in profile to right, 1645 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-75344).jpg "The Tower of London, c.1637-41 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Woman with black headscarf and fur stole; Medallions with busts of women (series title) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Old Man in Cap by Leonardo da Vinci")
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.jpg "Map of the City of Florence by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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Muscarum_Scarabeorum_(series_ti_-_(MeisterDrucke-1363137).jpg "Butterflies, Beetles, and a Moth by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Swallow-Tailed Butterfly and Twelve Other Insects by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_(bw_photo)_-_(MeisterDrucke-1644335).jpg "Execution of Strafford, May 12 1641 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Head of a Man with Protruding Chin and Snub Nose Looking Upwards in Profile to Left by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Four Boys, a Satyr and a Goat Standing to the Right (series title: Putti and Satyrs) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_execution_of_English_politician_Thomas_Went_-_(MeisterDrucke-971900).jpg "First English Revolution (1641-1649): execution of English politician Thomas Wentworth de Strafford (1593-1641) on 12/05/1641 at Tower Hill in London. Engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar (17th century) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Swallow-tailed Butterfly and Twelve Other Insects. by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "In Saint Paul")
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Verschillende_vogels_(series_t_-_(MeisterDrucke-1371621).jpg "Two Swans (Various Birds series) by Peter van Liesebetten")
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.jpg "Map of Oxford by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Bald-headed Man by Leonardo da Vinci")
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.jpg "Dark Fur Muff with a Ribbon by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Tower of London by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Heron Hawking by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Woman with a Fan and a Mirror, Seen from Behind by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Swallow-tailed Butterfly and Twelve Other Insects by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Coronation Procession of Charles II Through London, 1662. by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Bust of a Man with Hooked Nose, Prominent Upper Lip, Open Mouth and Short Curly Hair by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Woman with Snood by Leonardo da Vinci")
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.jpg "View of London: New Palace Yard with Westminster Hall, and the Clock House by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "View of Steiereck on the Danube by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Black boy, 1645 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Woman with Veil and a Feather Fan by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Head of a Young Black Boy in Profile to Right by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Amoenissimae aliquot locorvm...: Plate 5, Augsburg by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Garter Feast in St. George")
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.jpg "Coronation Procession of Charles II, 1662. by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Cardinal, 1651 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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Verschillende_vogels_(series_t_-_(MeisterDrucke-1369876).jpg "Waterfowl (Various Birds series) by Peter van Liesebetten")
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.jpg "Five hunting horns by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Winter by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Woman with White Veil and Black Hat, Mary Stuart, 1645 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1364147).jpg "Shell, Syrinx Aruanus by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Head of a bald, sinewy man looking downwards, 1648 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Deformed Heads of a Bald Man and Woman with Horns on Their Heads by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Monk by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_en_vrouwVarie_figurae_et_-_(MeisterDrucke-1375301).jpg "Deformed Caricature Heads of a Man with Cap (Dante?) and Woman by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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Diversae_In_-_(MeisterDrucke-1371624).jpg "Butterflies, Wasp, and Other Insects (Various Insects series) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Six Hounds by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-605343).jpg "John Donne (Monument) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "The Bride and Death by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "The Seasons: Winter by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "The Gamesters and Death, from The Dance of Death by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Nun by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Four small boys and a goat by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Panoramic View of London by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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Verschillende_vogels_(series_t_-_(MeisterDrucke-1331129).jpg "Two Swans, Diversarum Avium Species (series title), Various Birds (series title) by Peter van Liesebetten")
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.jpg "Daughter of a Citizen of Cologne by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Franconian Woman by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Moorish Woman by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Ciuis Pragensis Filia by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "View of the East Part of Southwark, Looking Towards Greenwich by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1406044).jpg "Shot Deer, Hunting, Hunting Dogs and Game (series title) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1371534).jpg "Fable of the Satyr and the Farmer (series title: Fables) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "St. James")
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Gezichten_rond_-_(MeisterDrucke-1368226).jpg "View of Dover Castle by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Proclamation of the peace of Westphalia in 1648, engraved by F. Wyngaerde by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Hendrik van der Borcht the Younger by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Albury by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-542970).jpg "Frevill and Ferrers Monument by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1375736).jpg "Shell, Harpa Major by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "The Woman with a Mannish Hat by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Old Man, 1651 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Sectioned Skull in Profile to Left with the Left Side of the Cranium Removed by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim Paracelsus, Swiss Alchemist and Physician by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Nobilis Mulier Anglicana by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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Verschillende_vogels_(series_-_(MeisterDrucke-1371300).jpg "Three Pheasants Various Birds (series title) by Peter van Liesebetten")
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.jpg "The Dead Hare by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Pevensey Castle by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "The Last Fight of Aeneas and Turnus (State 1) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Ornate Goblet, 1642 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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Verschillende_vogels_(s_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376165).jpg "Birds in a Tree by Peter van Liesebetten")
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.jpg "A Griffin by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "The Nun and Death by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Three Moths, Two Butterflies, and a Bumble Bee, 1646 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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