'Ectypa' of Ploos van Amstel: A peasant woman, seen from behind and leaning on the lower half of ...

Cornelis Ploos van Amstel (1726-1798) was a painter, printmaker, teacher, entrepreneur and one of the most important art collectors from the Netherlands. Besides collecting drawings, he was also interested in the scientific aspect of printmaking and experimented constantly, seeking new techniques to make etchings in a drawing-like style that reproduced his important collection. He also experimented with printing in colour from several plates; indeed, he can be called a real inventor and brought the technique of printing to a new level. Ploos van Amstel worked with other printmakers who were obliged to keep the newly invented techniques secret. His working methods have, however, been revealed by Th. Laurentius et al., and catalogued in the work <em>Cornelis Ploos van Amstel Kunstverzamelaar en prentuitgever</em> (1980).

Ploos van Amstel combined etching, aquatint and mezzotint into his fascimiles of old master drawings ('prenttekening') and published 46 of them in 21 different sets between 1765-1787, in editions of 350 impressions called 'Ectypa'. The use of brown ink is surely intended to give it a closer fidelity to the source of inspiration - a drawing of this seemingly inconsequential everyday life scene by Rembrandt in the Rijksprentenkabinet, Amsterdam. Our print is one of two by this artist in the collection: both are in the so-called King George IV album, acquired by the Dominion Museum in 1910 (see also Te Papa 1910-0001-1/34-80). 

Sources:

British Museum Collection online, https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3155012&partId=1&searchText=ect ypa+ploos&page=1

Old Master Prints, 'Printdrawings after Rembrandt', http://www.oldmasterprint.com/ploossrembrandt.htm

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   April 2019