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Zu den Eremit:innen-Grafiken nach Maerten de Vos

Abstract

Between 1585 and 1600, Maerten de Vos, in cooperation with Jan and Raphael Sadeler and Adriaen Collaert, all active in the Antwerp print trade, published five series of engravings that show hermits in their hermitages. The 132 images in total put forward variations of one subject: the body techniques of asceticism pursued in places of isolation from everyday life. They create a paradoxical effect of making these distant places accessible and bringing them close to an audience. Through an in-depth analysis of the history and aesthetics of these prints, this article examines the reception of this outstanding project of early modern print culture. It shows how the
series subtly convey a sense of the desert by visual means, thereby involving the viewers closely in the remote hermitages.