Amstelodamum
Seymour Haden was the unlikely combination of a surgeon and an etcher. Although he pursued a very successful medical career, he is mostly remembered for his etched work as well as for his writings on etching. He was one of a group of artists, including James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) and Alphonse Legros (1837–1911), whose passionate interest in the medium led to the so-called etching revival, a period that lasted well into the twentieth century. The extolling of etching for its inherent spontaneous qualities reached its pinnacle during this time. While the line of the etching needle, Haden wrote, was "free, expressive, full of vivacity," that of the burin was "cold, constrained, uninteresting," and "without identity."
View of a city with lettering in the sky 'HIC TERMINUS HAERET'.
"Terminus or Terme was a Roman divinity thought to preside over landmarks (termini), which were held to be so sacred that it was considered a sacrilege to disturb or move them. His name was early associated with Jupiter, one of whose various attributes was reflected in the surname Jupiter Terminalis. Terminus was at first represented as a crude block of stone, later as a column surmounted by a human head.
State VI (H2). Additional work in the water and the sky. Oblique lines shade most of the letters of Amstelodamum."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 121]
"Published States: Second.-Slight, additional work in the water and the sky, and the portion of the work to the right added in Trial (b), shaded with oblique lines. Later impressions are printed entirely in black ink, the earlier ones having the upper part of the plate in red."
[Source: Harrington, p. 22]
View of a city with lettering in the sky 'HIC TERMINUS HAERET'.
"Terminus or Terme was a Roman divinity thought to preside over landmarks (termini), which were held to be so sacred that it was considered a sacrilege to disturb or move them. His name was early associated with Jupiter, one of whose various attributes was reflected in the surname Jupiter Terminalis. Terminus was at first represented as a crude block of stone, later as a column surmounted by a human head.
State VI (H2). Additional work in the water and the sky. Oblique lines shade most of the letters of Amstelodamum."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 121]
"Published States: Second.-Slight, additional work in the water and the sky, and the portion of the work to the right added in Trial (b), shaded with oblique lines. Later impressions are printed entirely in black ink, the earlier ones having the upper part of the plate in red."
[Source: Harrington, p. 22]
Artwork Details
- Title: Amstelodamum
- Artist: Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
- Date: 1863
- Medium: Etching; second state of two (Harrington); sixth state of six (Schneiderman)
- Dimensions: Sheet: 6 1/8 × 6 11/16 in. (15.5 × 17 cm)
Plate: 3 15/16 × 4 3/4 in. (10 × 12 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.3.302
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
1879
Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
1879
Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
1864
Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
1865
Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
1860
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