# Three Men Carrying Staffs

**Herman van Swanevelt** (Dutch, c. 1600–1655)  
etching

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1973.32.20. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.53888.html).

## About this work

Herman van Swanevelt made this. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

The image shows a landscape scene viewed from an elevated perspective. The horizon is low, with mountains visible in the distance. The scene features detailed brushstroke technique and a monochromatic palette. Trees dominate the left side, with two figures walking along a path towards the horizon. The color palette is black and white, accentuating details, light, and shadow.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Etching.** The artist draws with a needle through a waxy coating on a copper plate, and acid bites the exposed lines. The plate is then inked, wiped and printed under pressure, so the line keeps the freedom of drawing.

### [Herman van Swanevelt](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/herman-van-swanevelt)

Dutch, c. 1600–1655

Van Swanevelt, from Woerden in Holland, spent the late 1620s and 1630s in Rome, where he worked in the circle of Claude Lorrain and became one of the Dutch painters who carried the golden light of the Roman Campagna into northern landscape. He settled in Paris in the 1640s, painted decorations there and became a member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. His many landscape etchings spread his Italianate style widely.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- Century: 16th century
- Subjects: Landscape, Tree, Figures, Frame
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1567.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1567/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/three-men-carrying-staffs-nga-53888).