An unrecorded birds-eye view of Venice by Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-77), signed in the lower right corner. It could be argued that this engraving falls into the school of his ‘Long View of London from Bankside’, 1647, and the ‘Long View of Prague, 1649

In the annals of English copper plate engraving few hold such a high reputation as Hollar. He is one of the first to record in such great detail and quantity the English way of life at the time. The breadth and depth of his work is remarkable. He was born in Prague 13 July 1607 as Václav Hollar which he would later anglicise. His childhood was a life of some privilege which enabled him access to some of the finest art works of the era, including that of the principal court engraver Aegidius Sadeler with whom it is believed Hollar learnt to engrave. Hollar’s early work was in Prague but the turmoil at home encouraged him to go to Stuttgart, Germany in 1627. Two years later he appears to have moved further west to Strasbourg. His natural talent flourished alongside the likes of Jan van de Velde and shortly after Matthaus Merian in Frankfurt. He worked in towns all along the River Rhine including Holland.

It was in 1636 that a fortuitous meeting occurred with the English envoy Thomas Howard, the Earl of Arundel. Hollar joined the entourage and was employed to record their travels. At the end of the year the Earl of Arundel returned to England and was joined by Hollar. For the next six years he worked closely alongside him. The Earl and his circle were fervent Royalists which it appears matched Hollar’s own sympathies. According to the eighteenth century engraver George Vertue, he fought during the Civil War being present at the garrison of Basing House in 1644 with other notable artists such as Inigo Jones and William Faithorne. During this period some of his engravings were published by the largest printseller at the time, Peter Stent. The Arundel’s had left London for Holland just before the outbreak of the Civil War. Sometime later in 1644, Hollar joined them. He would spend the next eight years in Antwerp about which we know relatively little.

Returning to London in around the turn of the year 1651/ 52, he worked closely with John Ogilby and William Dugdale. Placing this engraving in his oeuvre is difficult. John Evelyn believed he converted to Catholicism whilst resident in Antwerp. The only Venetian link we were able to find was a clear close link with Giovanni Sagrado (1616-82), the Venetian Ambassador. Part of a powerful Venetian family, he had been Ambassador to France, and would become Ambassador to the Habsburg Court. His account of the execution of King Charles I is one of the most detailed. It was at the Ambassador’s house in January 1646 that he heard mass for which he was fined £40.

Provenance: Sotheby’s, London, 7 December 1993 lot 185, a five volume composite ‘History of England’ by David Hume, 1806, with 1,644 plates! It had the bookplate of Richard Henry Alexander Bennet. The prints were collected by the noted Richard Bull (1721-1805) whose daughter was Elizabeth Bull of North Court Manor, Isle of Wight (1749-1809). She left her books to R. H. Alexander Bennet of Beckenham, Kent. The lines round the sheets are typical of Richard Bull, who had put the collection together. Not in Cassini (1982) ‘Piante e Vedute Prospettiche di Venezia (1479-1855)’; Griffiths (1988); not in Hind (1952-64); ODNB; not in Pennington (1982).