MIROU, Anton
(b. 1578, Antwerpen, d. 1627, Antwerpen)

The Road from Schwalbach to Kemel

1615
Pen, brown ink, 133 x 141 mm
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest

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).

In the majority of the Schwalbach drawings Mirou chose a close-up view and a simple spatial construction developed with the use of diagonals or parallels. The diagonal spatial construction of The Road from Schwalbach to Kemel is coupled with the decorative manner of drawing characteristic of Mirou: the road and the forms of the foliage of trees are rendered with zigzag lines and curves and the undulations of the landscape and the shaded surfaces of the foliage with vigorous hatching.