Water 1584 - 1603

"Water" is an etching created by Jacob Savery I, a Dutch artist active from 1565 to 1603. This circular print depicts a fisherman holding up a fish, surrounded by nets, a basket, and a bucket. The inscription, likely in Dutch, suggests that the fisherman is hoping to catch more fish. The use of etching and the detailed depiction of the fisherman's tools and the landscape hint at a genre popular in the Dutch Golden Age, "genre scenes," that captured the daily life of everyday people. This artwork provides a glimpse into the life of a fisherman in the 16th century.