View of Schwalbach
by MIROU, Anton, Pen, light brown ink, wash, 155 x 201 mm
Mirou executed several pen and ink drawings inspired by Schwalbach and its environment. The dates recorded on these sheets depicting peasants’ houses, village streets, and the fringes of forests suggest that Mirou visited the place several times between 1609 and 1618. He might have gone there partly for health reasons as well, since Schwalbach had been a popular resort well known for its medical spring. The drawings were presumably commissioned by the publisher Johann Theodor de Bry (1561-1623).
The present drawing provides a view onto a village tucked away in its natural geographical environment of gently sloping hills from an elevated vantage point.