Hope

published 1559

Philip Galle after Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Associated Names
Philip Galle

Artist, Netherlandish, 1537 - 1612

Hieronymus Cock

Publisher, Netherlandish, 1518 - 1570

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Artist After, Netherlandish, c. 1525/1530 - 1569

This is a drawing of a scene on a turbulent sea with various allegorical elements. The image shows a fortified structure where people and animals are observing or participating in the chaos around them. The water is filled with exaggerated waves, overturning boats, and numerous struggling figures. A prominent figure at the center appears calm amidst the storm with a shovel in hand. A large fish with a surprising expression emerges from the waves. In the background, there are structures and tree silhouettes against the skyline. The image is detailed with intricate lines, creating texture and depth, typical of Northern European engravings from the late Renaissance period.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.2119

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 310, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(sale, C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, May 7-9, 1928, lot 264); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b); gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1908

  • Bastelaer, Rene van. Les estampes de Peter Bruegel l'ancien. Brussels: G. van Oest et Cie, 1908.

1993

  • The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. (Philips Galle, Manfred Sellink and Marjolein Leesberg, authors). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. 310, state only.

Inscriptions

lower left, in image, in plate: BRVGEL. INV; lower center, in image, in plate: SPES (Hope); lower right, in image, in plate: H. cock excu.; lower margin, in plate: IVCVNDISSIMA EST SPEI PERSVASIO, ET VITAE IMPRIMIS / NECESSARIA, INTER TOT AERVMNAS PENEQ[UE] INTOLERABILES. (Very pleasant is the conviction of hope and [it is] most necessary for life, amid many and almost unbearable hardships.) [translation from Nadine Orenstein, ed., Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001, p. 185.]

Wikidata ID

Q64963009

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