Winter thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 56, The Djanogly Gallery

Winter

Print
1654 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This is a type of print called an etching. An etching is produced by biting lines in a metal plate with acid to hold ink. The lines on the plate are filled with ink which is then printed onto paper.

Subject Depicted
This print, made in 1654, is a copy by the English printmaker Richard Gaywood of an etching of 1643 by Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-77). It is one of a set of four etchings depicting the Seasons, each with a full-length figure of a woman dressed appropriately for the time of year, set on high ground above a recognisable location. This format was invented in the second decade of the 17th century by the French etcher Jacques Callot (1592-1635). The woman in this print depicts Winter. The time of year is indicated by the sumptuous furs she is wearing and the ornamental columns of smoke rising from the chimneys of the houses lining the street behind her. In the background is a view of Cornhill, London, the heart of the capital's financial centre. To the right is the tower of the Royal Exchange. The image is accompanied by an anonymous erotic verse.

Although not a great deal is know about him, Richard Gaywood was the most prolific etcher of his day. During the 1650s he took over from Wenceslaus Hollar as principal supplier of portrait etchings to the London print trade.

Ownership & Use
Sets of prints with a unified theme are particularly well-suited to framing and use as wall decorations. Eleven such sets of Seasons are known to have been published in England in the 17th century.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Winter (assigned by artist)
  • The Four Seasons (series title)
Materials and techniques
Etching on paper
Brief description
'Winter', etching by Richard Gaywood after Wenceslaus Hollar, from a series of the Four Seasons, 1654.
Physical description
Print with a depiction of a woman, dressed in black and standing with a street scene behind her.
Dimensions
  • Unmounted height: 26cm
  • Unmounted width: 17.8cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 26/04/1999 by sp
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'R. Gaywood fecit 4' (Signed and numbered)
  • 'Winter / The cold, not cruelty makes her weare / In Winter, furrs and Wild beasts haire / For a smoother skinn at night / Embraceth her with more delight.' (Lettered)
Gallery label
British Galleries: PRINTS Cheap prints of this period fuelled political and religious debate. The more expensive prints gathered here also suggest anxieties over threats to the established church. Religious images banned in public remained permissible between the covers of a book. Two printmakers were prominent. Hollar and his copyists recorded the topography and contemporary life of London. Faithorne, originally a Royalist, returned from banishment during the Commonwealth to make portraits of the gentry and leading scholars.(27/03/2003)
Object history
Etched and signed by Richard Gaywood (about 1630-1680) copying an etching by Wenceslaus Hollar
Subject depicted
Summary
Object Type
This is a type of print called an etching. An etching is produced by biting lines in a metal plate with acid to hold ink. The lines on the plate are filled with ink which is then printed onto paper.

Subject Depicted
This print, made in 1654, is a copy by the English printmaker Richard Gaywood of an etching of 1643 by Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-77). It is one of a set of four etchings depicting the Seasons, each with a full-length figure of a woman dressed appropriately for the time of year, set on high ground above a recognisable location. This format was invented in the second decade of the 17th century by the French etcher Jacques Callot (1592-1635). The woman in this print depicts Winter. The time of year is indicated by the sumptuous furs she is wearing and the ornamental columns of smoke rising from the chimneys of the houses lining the street behind her. In the background is a view of Cornhill, London, the heart of the capital's financial centre. To the right is the tower of the Royal Exchange. The image is accompanied by an anonymous erotic verse.

Although not a great deal is know about him, Richard Gaywood was the most prolific etcher of his day. During the 1650s he took over from Wenceslaus Hollar as principal supplier of portrait etchings to the London print trade.

Ownership & Use
Sets of prints with a unified theme are particularly well-suited to framing and use as wall decorations. Eleven such sets of Seasons are known to have been published in England in the 17th century.
Collection
Accession number
28877:4

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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