Cleveland Museum of Art

Views of Villages in Brabant and Campine: A Moated Village

Master of the Small Landscapes

Date

c. 1561

Medium

etching and engraving

Culture

Flanders

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Part of a second, larger series of 30 prints, this work illustrates a village scene around Brussels. The preliminary drawing is shown beside the print, which is reversed--a consequence of the printmaking process. While the engraver closely followed the composition of the drawing, the images are not exactly alike. The printmaker changed a number of details, such as removing the figure on the arched bridge and adding stairs leading to the water on the left. The most significant change, however, is the way the image was cropped--the sides cut off and the foreground enlarged--resulting in a change of perspective. In addition, the spontaneous quality of the drawing is virtually lost in the print. Compare the surface of the water and the reflections of the plants and buildings in these two works. Though this and other towns in the same series share familiar features with some Netherlandish villages, none of the exact locales can be identified.

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