1563
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Recto: (above) Panoramic Views of Jerez de la Frontera; (below) Barcelona is a 1563 by Anton van den Wyngaerde, a Renaissance work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This is a long, narrow drawing of two city views stitched together. On top, a wide river cuts through a sprawling town with clustered buildings, a tall tower, and a bridge. Below, another city stretches along a coastline, packed with houses and a few ships near the water. The artist labeled each scene—one is *Barcelona*, the other *Jerez de la Frontera*. Tiny handwritten notes mark streets and landmarks, like someone sketching a map while walking. Check out cross-hatching to see how artists build shadows with lines.
The artwork consists of panoramic views of Jerez de la Frontera and Barcelona, rendered in pen and ink by Anton van den Wyngaerde in 1563. The upper view of Jerez spans three attached sheets, while the lower view of Barcelona occupies three sheets below. Originally part of an album with 31 other views, the drawings were later separated and passed through various collectors before being acquired by the museum in 1879 as part of a larger group of works.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Anton van den Wyngaerde was a prolific Flemish topographical artist who made panoramic sketches and paintings of towns in the southern Netherlands, northern France, England, Italy, and Spain.
See the richer artist page
