The Plague of Frogs

1585

Jan Sadeler I, after Maarten van Cleef

Associated Names
Jan Sadeler I

Artist, Netherlandish, 1550 - 1600

Gerard de Jode

Publisher, Flemish, 1509 or 1517 - 1591

Maarten van Cleef

Artist After, Flemish, c. 1527 - 1581

This is a drawing featuring a scene with a dining area and an outdoor scene filled with animals. The drawing shows a dramatic depiction of a scene set in a classical architectural setting, with a group of individuals gathered around a table within a colonnade, engaging in what appears to be a formal or celebratory meal. Outside, figures are shown in distress amidst swarms of frogs. The architecture includes columns and arches. The lines and shading capture the tension and chaos of the scene, with animals interacting with the individuals and the environment.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Hack

  • Dimensions

    plate: 20 × 28.6 cm (7 7/8 × 11 1/4 in.)
    sheet: 20.9 × 29.4 cm (8 1/4 × 11 9/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2012.91.4

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hollstein, no. 56

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Charles Hack, New York; Gift to NGA, 2012.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. 72 vols. Amsterdam, 1980: XXI (Johannes Sadeler I): no. 56.

1993

  • The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. (The De Jode Dynasty, Marjolein Leesberg, author). Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel: Sound & Vision Publishers, 2018: Part I, no. 60, i/iii.

Inscriptions

lower left in image: JHSaeijler; in plate, along lower edge: Ranarum, Ciniphum, muscarum hinditur agmen; Et terra natis corpoibuque nocent. Exod: 8; 4; by later hand, verso in graphite: Le [not deciphered] des grenouilles, des abeilles(?) des mouches et ven [not deciphered] aux hommes

Wikidata ID

Q76560806

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