Study law or become an artist? This question, which is still very topical today, had to be asked as early as the 17th century by the young Wenceslas Hollar, known as Wenceslaus Hollar in English and Václav Hollar in Czech. Fortunately for posterity, Hollar chose the artistic side and created countless drawings and copperplate engravings that still have great artistic and historical value today. Born in Prague in 1607, Hollar was apprenticed to the famous engraver Matthäus Merian in Frankfurt am Main in 1627, where he learnt, above all, his later highly regarded methodology of the topography of cities. During his training and stay in the Holy Roman Empire he met the Englishman Lord Thomas Howard, one of the most important art collectors of his time, and was significantly influenced by him. In 1637 Hollar followed his patron Howard back to England, where he spent the rest of his life.
During his training in Frankfurt and later in England, Hollar began to accept various commissions, including views and topographies of places in Germany, Bohemia, England, the Netherlands, Switzerland and present-day Morocco, as well as copperplate engravings of everyday life at the time, seascapes, depictions of nature and portraits of saints and well-known people. With his attention to detail, his experimentation with colour prints and his diligence, Hollar gradually made a name for himself and soon worked for the British royal court under King Charles I. Numerous books with illustrations followed, including classic editions of Homer or Vergil. After the great fire of London in 1666, in which the city centre of London was almost completely burnt out and destroyed, Hollar produced very detailed maps of London including its destroyed districts. These works as also Hollar's previous topographies of old London belong today to the most important sources about London in the Middle Ages. Because of his works about London, Hollar was sent on an expedition to Tangier and today's Morocco by King Charles II in 1668, whose illustrations and maps are also very important today.
The life of the artist was marked by many strokes of fate, such as the impoverishment of his family during the Thirty Years' War, the English Civil War and the temporary captivity of Hollar, the death of his son James by the Great Plague in London or the Great Fire of London. Hollar himself also lived in poverty for most of his life, more or less despite his talent and diligence, as he had little sense of negotiation and payment and often sold his works below value. Nevertheless, his oeuvre comprises approximately 400 drawings, more than 3000 etchings and more than 2700 printing plates, and his estate is one of the most important sources of early and middle 17th century Europe, due to his attention to detail and the distinctive documentation of numerous historical events. Wenzel Hollar died in London in 1677 in great poverty.
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.jpg "Dutch Warships by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Animals and Plants: Leopard with Plants and Insects, 1662 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "The Town and Castle of Deal, Kent by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Lion and Tulip by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Five Boys and a Satyr, 1646 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1375729).jpg "Shell, Hippopus Hippopus by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Great View of Prague by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-75344).jpg "The Tower of London, c.1637-41 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Bust of a Man with Hooked Nose, Prominent Upper Lip, Open Mouth and Short Curly Hair by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Grotesque Old Man with Flattened Nose in Profile to Left by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Head of a Man with Protruding Chin and Snub Nose Looking Upwards in Profile to Left by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Map of London After the Great Fire of 1666 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Old St Paul")
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.jpg "Bust of a Man with a Flat Nose and Protruding Mouth, Wearing Flat Cap and Buttoned Coat by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Head of a bald man in profile to left, 1644-52 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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Karikaturen_koppen_en_-_(MeisterDrucke-1405566).jpg "Two Deformed Heads Caricatures, Heads and Deformations after Leonardo da Vinci (series title) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim Paracelsus, Swiss Alchemist and Physician by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "A Young Man Caressing an Old Woman by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Duren by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Spring (Three-Quarter-Length Seasons) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_the_first_President_of_the_Royal_S_-_(MeisterDrucke-200870).jpg "Bust of Charles II, with Lord Brouncker, the first President of the Royal Society, and Francis Bacon by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Grand Procession of the Sovereign and the Knights of the Garter at Windsor, 1672 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1375638).jpg "Shell, Tonna Perdix (Shells) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Equestrian Statue of Charles I (State 6) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Woman with a Wreath of Oak Leaves by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_execution_of_English_politician_Thomas_Went_-_(MeisterDrucke-971900).jpg "First English Revolution (1641-1649): execution of English politician Thomas Wentworth de Strafford (1593-1641) on 12/05/1641 at Tower Hill in London. Engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar (17th century) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Sectioned Skull in Profile to Left with the Left Side of the Cranium Removed by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Panoramic View of London by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Doctor, 1651 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "The Mineral Spring by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Summer: The Bathing Place by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "The Old Woman and Death by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Allegory of the Peace of Westphalia, 1648 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Cives Hollandica, 1643 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Charles II by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Tomb of Henry VII by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Bust of a Woman Wearing Low-Cut Dress by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Mercatoris Francofurtensis Vxor by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1282098).jpg "Pink-Mouth Murex (phyllonotus erythrostomus) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Map of the British Isles and illustrations of 17th century historical events by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Deformed Heads of a Woman with Straight Hair and a Man with a Double-Brimmed Hat, Caricatures, Heads and Deformations after Leonardo da Vinci (series title) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Alexis by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-160935).jpg "Prospect of the Bay of Tangier from the South-East by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Ecorche head of a man in profile to left by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Gentlemen taking the")
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.jpg "Coblentz, 1635 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "View of London: New Palace Yard with Westminster Hall, and the Clock House by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Head of an Old Man with Tufts of Curly Hair Around Ear in Profile to Left, 1644-52 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "St. George")
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.jpg "Arundel House from the South by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Head of a Man with Thick Curly Hair in Profile to the Left by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Proclamation of the Peace of Münster in Antwerp, 1648 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Paradise Lost, from the Dance of Death by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "A Deformed Couple Facing Each Other by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Hyems - Winter, 1641 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1375931).jpg "Warships and a Whale in a Sea Storm by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Title-Page of Walton")
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.jpg "Head of a Young Black Boy in Profile to Right by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Part of Tangier from Above, Without the Water-Gate by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "May by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Classical Ruins by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Male head in profile to left with muscles exposed, 1660 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "View of Canterbury Cathedral from the South, c.1638-66 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Lying Deer, Facing Right by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Prague by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Seleucus and His Son by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "The Lion and the Forester by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Bird")
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.jpg "Portrait of Albrecht Dürer, at the Age of 26 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Frontispiece to")
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.jpg "Swallow-tailed Butterfly and Twelve Other Insects by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Views of London: New Palace Yard with Westminster Hall, and the Clock House by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Wenceslaus Hollar Etchings by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Large Prospect of Prague by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Head of a bald, sinewy man looking downwards, 1648 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "St Barbara by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Ornamental Sword Hilt by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "The Fox and the Cock by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Sectioned Skull in Profile to Left with the Left Side of the Cranium Removed by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Bust of a Deformed Man Wearing a Bulbous Hat in Profile to the Left by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Fireworks at Hemissem by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Adam Ploughing by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Portrait of King Charles I with Diagrams Showing the Formation of His Troops During the Bishops")
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.jpg "St. Croix de Jerusalem by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Augsburg by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Charles II. State 4 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Shepherd Meliboeus Judging the Play of Shepherds Corydon and Thyrsis (series: Works of Virgil) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Coblentz by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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Verschillende_vogels_(series_tit_-_(MeisterDrucke-1375210).jpg "Two Swans by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Elephant and Camel, 17th century by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Queen, from the Dance of Death, 1651 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Fame Overcomes Time and Death by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Ruins of a Round Building by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Part of the City of Westminster by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1371534).jpg "Fable of the Satyr and the Farmer (series title: Fables) by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Death")
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.jpg "Bishop Jan van Malderen, 1645 by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Ancilla Coloniensis by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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.jpg "Ruins and a Barred Gate on the Esquiline Hill in Rome by Wenceslaus Hollar")
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