Following Wenceslaus Hollar models, 17th century

Italian school of the 17th century. Following models by WENCESLAUS HOLLAR (Prague, 1607-London, 1677).
"The Golden Bough.
Ink and watercolour on paper.
Size: 15 x 21 cm.
This ink drawing on paper follows the engraving of the same name by Wenceslaus Hollar in which Aeneas' search for the Golden Bough is depicted. In The Aeneid, Book VI, in order for Aeneas to be able to go back and forth to Hades to see his deceased father, he had to search in the dark forest for the golden branch of an oak tree, which he can only find with the help of a pair of doves, "the birds of his mother" Venus (Virgil 224).
Wenceslaus Hollar was a largely German-trained engraver and draughtsman, whose best-known works were produced in the United Kingdom. He specialised in panoramic views of urban and rural landscapes strongly influenced by Netherlandish painting of the period.