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151
Anthonie Waterloo Two Hermits Etching, c. 1640 5" x 5 ¾" |
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| While
not much is known about the life of Anthonie Waterloo, the large body of
work which he left behind indicates something of the character of the artist.
During his life, he produced 136 etchings (according to Bartsch) which
gave him contemporary recognition. Waterloo was also a painter, but only
a handful of paintings have been attributed to him since a majority of
them were unsigned. Even though his paintings and etchings were sold for
a fair amount of money, Waterloo died in poverty.
Waterloo's style derived from the Dutch landscape tradition which prevailed in the seventeenth century. Many European artists were traveling to Rome during this time, returning to their respective homelands with newfound knowledge in Italian art. Although there is no documentation that suggests Waterloo studied in Rome, he was exposed to contemporary artists who had traveled south. The Dutch landscape tradition evolved into a less formal academic style and encouraged a loose and general composition, as compared to the more structured Italian landscape tradition. The Wake Forest print, Two Hermits, is a fitting example of how Waterloo's style relates to the Dutch tradition. The Two Hermits was printed as part of a series, which probably included the following: The Mule Driver [B.55], Man Sleeping Beside the Road [B.56], River With Rocky Banks [B.57], The Chapel With Steps [B.58], and The Plank Bridge [B.59]. All of these contain pastoral scenes with rivers, bridges, chapels and/or small figures involved in an activity. The best estimate for the date of the series would be around the late 1630's to the mid-1640's, because after 1645 Waterloo worked on a much larger scale. Many scholars writing about Waterloo have seen his restricted point-of-view as his main attribute. Bartsch commented, "[Waterloo] has seldom represented a scene of great extent: A little corner of the forest, a part of a brook, a rock, an isolated village situated on the shore of a canal, a hermitage - such are the subjects he selects by preference."1 Considered a master at branch and leaf etching, Waterloo enhances his composition through his delicate treatment of foliage. The small figure crossing the bridge, as well as the two hermits in the foreground, create a poetic narrative for the viewer. Commentary on the Two Hermits has included this impression: "A romantic little chapel crowns the woody and rocky height in the Two Hermits, showing clearly that religion also had its romantic side for Waterloo, in quite a modern manner…Yet, he was entirely Catholic in his choice of subjects and, in the same series, he is ready to show us a man beating his ass, as the two holy brethren ascending their hill to a secluded hermitage."2 Waterloo did not submit his plates to repeated bitings. His control of dark tonality is due to his technique of spot biting, a controlled second biting confined to one area, and drypoint work done after the first biting.3 Close inspection of the print itself reveals the technique which Waterloo used. P.S. 1.
Morse, 1992, 4.
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