Winter; The Four Seasons

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.