
Read the visual description
The image depicts a bustling autumn scene with various figures engaged in tasks. A rustic building with a thatched roof is shown to the left, with a person leaning out from a window. The horizon, higher up in the image, showcases distant hills and a windmill. The artwork features detailed, linear engravings capturing textures of clothing, trees, and buildings. The color scheme is monochromatic using shades of brown and gray. In the distance, beyond the immediate scene, small cottages, a church with a tall spire, and a village nestled among trees can be seen in the rolling countryside.
National Gallery of Art · Print
Autumn
Pieter van der Heyden after Hans Bol
- Date
- 1570
- Medium
- engraving on laid paper
- Dimensions
- plate: 22.6 x 28.7 cm (8 7/8 x 11 5/16 in.) sheet: 28.5 x 37.2 cm (11 1/4 x 14 5/8 in.)
- Classification
- Accession number
- 1989.28.3
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. Lessing J. Rosenwald
- Time span
- 1551 to 1600
- Department
- CG-E
Portfolio and series
- Series
- The Four Seasons [Holl. 63-66]
Subjects and terms
- Flemish
- engraving
- season
- allegory
- Autumn
Provenance
Mrs. Lessing J. Rosenwald [1893-1988], Jenkintown, PA; given to the NGA, 1989.
Inscription
in image at lower right, in plate: H Bol; in image at lower right, in plate: Cock. excu.; bottom margin, within central cartouche, in plate: AVTVMNVS / Virilitatis typus; bottom margin, at left, in plate: Septembri, Octobri Autumnus, totoq Noúembri.; bottom margin, at right, in plate: Dat musto grauidas Autumnus pomifer uuas; following inscriptions by later hand in graphite, uR //: 23; lRv//: Bols, Autumn
NGA object ID 71032. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.