Vol. 33, No. 4 “De Nieu Nederlanse Marcurius” Dec. 2017
Events of Interest Until Jan. 7, 2018. “Drawn to innovation and prosperity. The Greatness: Master Drawings from exhibition brings together nearly 70 December 2, 2017. The National the Thaw Collection” at the Morgan Maritime Historical Society works by Vermeer and his fellow Library in NYC, featuring fifteen painters, including Gerard ter Borch, presents “Early Dutch New York” Dutch drawings by Rembrandt, Van at the Cortlandt Yacht Club in Gerrit Dou, Pieter de Hooch, Gabriel Gogh and Saenredam. This Metsu, Frans van Mieris, Caspar Montrose, NY. Historical and exhibition highlights more than 150 marine artist Len Tantillo will Netscher, and Jan Steen, who lived in master drawings from the Thaw various towns throughout the Dutch present on paintings of early Dutch Collection, one of the world’s finest New York, inspired by the “rivers Republic, from Delft and Deventer to of New Netherland” — the Hudson, private collections containing over Amsterdam and Leiden. Juxtaposing 400 sheets. paintings related by theme, motif, and the Connecticut and the Delaware. Drawn to Greatness” focuses on Upon these waterways hundreds of “ composition, the exhibition explores pivotal artists and key moments in how these artists inspired, rivaled, vessels carried goods and the history of draftsmanship. Works passengers, and the diversity and surpassed, and pushed each other to organic beauty of their varied by major masters from the greater artistic achievement. The designs has long been an inspira- Renaissance to the modern era will exhibition features 10 paintings by tion to the artist. be on view, including Mantegna, Vermeer (many of which have not been Rubens, Rembrandt, Canaletto, seen in the United States since the Registration is at 10:30 am; Gallery’s 1995–1996 exhibition lecture at 11:00. If you plan to Piranesi, Watteau, Fragonard, attend, please contact NMHS at Goya, Ingres, Turner, Daumier, “Johannes Vermeer”), including The 914-737-7878, ext. 0 or via email. Redon, Degas, Cézanne, Gauguin, Lacemaker (c. 1669–1670, Musée du Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and Louvre, Paris) and The Love Letter (c. A $10 donation is appreciated. 1669–1670, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). After the lecture, NMHS will host Pollock. For more information, go its annual “Holiday Potluck Party” to www.themorgan.org. A fully illustrated catalog features — please bring a favorite dish, essays by the curators and essays and : *** entries by a team of international drink or dessert that serves six to scholars. eight people and join in the fun! Until Jan. 21, 2018. “Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: For more information, including *** Inspiration and Reality” at the thumbnails of the paintings and videos National Gallery of Art in about Vermeer et al., go to: December 5, 2017. The Town of www.nga.gov. New Scotland Hist. Assoc. presents, Washington, D.C. This landmark exhibition examines the artistic “To Serve in a Free Country: *** Slavery & Freedom in New exchanges among Johannes Vermeer and his contemporaries Until March 11, 2018. “Mapping Netherland and Colonial New from the mid-1650s to around 1680, York.” Sam Huntington, Fort America’s Road from Revolution to when they reached the height of Independence” at the New-York Crailo’s asst. director, will discuss Historical Society, showcases the history of slavery in colonial their technical ability and mastery New York and the enslaved of genre painting, or depictions of hand-drawn and engraved maps from daily life. The introduction of quiet the 18th and early 19th centuries that Africans’ lives, culture, and illuminate the tremendous changes— traditions. 7:30 pm at the NSHA scenes unfolding in private household spaces and featuring geographic, political, and museum in New Salem. Go to: economic—that occurred before, during, bit.ly/2zG1J4T for details and elegant ladies and gentlemen was directions. among the most striking and just after the Revolutionary War. innovations of Dutch painting of the The exhibition features rarely displayed Golden Age, a time of unparalleled manuscripts and printed maps from
New Netherland Institute, Box 2536 Empire State Plaza Station, Albany, NY 12220 Voice: 518-486-4815 | Fax: 518-473-0472 [email protected] | www.newnetherlandinstitute.org Nieu Nederlanse Marcurius 2
New-York Historical’s own premier Fort Orange and over 80,000 Dutch colony. collection, including the original artifacts from Schuyler Flatts. In 1636, Peter Minuit manuscript surveys of Robert Among the thousands of artifacts participated in a corporation formed Erskine, geographer and surveyor recovered are everyday items such by a group of Swedish and Dutch general of the Continental Army, as ceramic plates, tobacco pipes, investors who wished to plant a and his successor Simeon De Witt. drinking glasses, firearm parts, and new colony under the flag of Also on display will be John Jay’s food remains. Trade items in the Sweden. They chose to settle a personal copy of John Mitchell’s collection include glass beads, group of colonists on the Delaware Map of the British and French mouth harps, and other items. River, in order to engage in the fur Dominions in North America Together, these two collections tell trade and in fishing, whaling, and (1755) to which hand-drawn red the story of the first Native agriculture. The chosen location for lines representing proposed Americans who lived in the upper the colony was at a site in the lower boundaries were added during the Hudson Valley for thousands of end of the territory claimed by the negotiations of the Treaty of Paris, years before Europeans arrived, Dutch, which had not been 1782–1783. This exhibition was interaction between native people maintained or occupied by them. organized by the Norman B. and the first Dutch colonists, the Minuit founded the New Sweden Leventhal Map Center at the Boston development of Fort Orange as a colony in March 1638 on the Public Library as “We Are One: trading center, the establishment of Minquas Kil(now the Christina Mapping America’s Road from Rensselaerswijck, and everyday life River) at the site of the present city Revolution to Independence” and in 17th-century New Netherland. of Wilmington, Delaware. curated at New-York Historical by The Fort Orange and Schuyler On his way back to Sweden in Nina Nazionale, Director of Library Flatts collections were transferred August 1638, Peter Minuit had Operations and Curator of Printed to the New York State Museum by sailed to the island of St. Kitts in Collections. The book, Revolution: the New York State Office of Parks, the West Indies, where he was Mapping the Road to American Recreation and Historic trading for tobacco to take back to Independence, 1755–1783, is Preservation. Some of the artifacts Sweden, before picking up his available for purchase at the remain on public exhibition at second group of New Sweden NYHistory Store. For more Crailo State Historic Site in settlers. He was visiting a Dutch information, go to: www.nyhistory. Rensselaer, Senate House State ship captain on his ship, the org. Historic Site in Kingston, and Vliegende Hart, in the harbor at St. Schuyler Mansion State Historic Kitts when a sudden hurricane Site in Albany. The State Museum arose, which drove many ships out News plans to open an exhibition to sea. After the storm was over, featuring artifacts from the Fort most of the ships returned to the Congratulations to Janny Venema Orange and Schuyler Flatts harbor, but the Vliegende Hart for receiving a knighthood in the collections in 2018. wasn’t among them. Minuit’s crew Order of Orange-Nassau! This waited for him for several days, award recognizes her publications searching in the harbor, but finally and work at the New Netherland Research News concluded that the the Vliegende Research Center since 1984. The Foul play in the Caribbean? Hart had sunk in the storm and that presentation was made by Dolph [Contributed by Elizabeth Johnson] Minuit had gone down with it and Hogewoning, Consul General of the Peter Minuit was hired by the drowned. They returned to Sweden Netherlands, at the NNI conference Dutch West India Company as an where they reported his death to the dinner last September. early explorer of the Delaware New Sweden authorities. River area of North America. His But what really happened? There mission was to explore the region is more to the story that hasn’t been Museum News around the Delaware River in order The New York State Museum known until now. to discover other resources besides Recently-discovered evidence recently announced the acquisition furs that could be exploited for of over 100,000 archæological concerning Peter Minuit’s sudden profit. In 1626 he was appointed as disappearance can be considered in artifacts from Fort Orange and one of the earliest directors of the Schuyler Flatts, documenting Dutch my recent article: “Whatever Dutch colony in North America and happened to Peter Minuit?” Read it and early English settlement of the served in that position until his Albany area in the 17th century. online at: http://bit.ly/2mfpGgA. recall in 1632. He left the service of Please send the editor of the Archæological excavations in the the West India Company in July of early 1970s under the direction of Marcurius any comments, conjec- 1632 over a dispute about expenses tures, additional clues or suspicions Dr. Paul Huey resulted in the incurred while he was running the recovery of 36,000 artifacts from for publication in a future issue. Nieu Nederlanse Marcurius 3
Publications as well as an alphabetical index of degrees of success) in the late the surnames and the names of nineteenth and early twentieth Our friend in Australia, Thomas farms. The manuscript comprises centuries; most of the translations Vanderveldt, has sent us a approximately 2600 typed A4 appear in Ecclesiastical Records: Christmas gift. His message and a pages. Eventually the original State of New York (Albany: James link to the book follows: transcript was scanned and made B. Lyon, 1901-1916, 7 vols.) edited
Hendricks Award was awarded artwork, and the splendor and without maps but contained a to Kenneth Shefsiek for his intricacy of the engraving detailed text and numerous book Set in Stone: Creating suggest that the charts were coastal outlines. and Commemorating a not made for use at sea but From that period on, Hudson Valley Culture. served a more decorative and consistent efforts were made to Book-length manuscript consultative purpose on land, produce reliable sea charts, submissions for the 2018 perhaps as illustrative and revisions reflected the Hendricks Award are due conversation pieces in the growth of knowledge and the February 1, 2018. For more offices of ship owners and widening range of travel and information on the award as wealthy merchants. Although discovery. They were essential well as a listing of other award the work was a great success to the Dutch Republic whose winners, go to our website and in such circles and among vigorous trading and maritime click on “Programs and academics, by and large, ambitions overlapped. The Awards.” It is worth noting despite its fine qualities, pilots nation’s commercial drive was that 2018 will be the found the hefty format reflected in the creation and thirty-first year that Dr. impractical at sea. evolution of marine carto- Andrew A. Hendricks has The result was that in 1592 graphy in which Waghenaer generously supported this Waghenaer introduced a new played so significant a part. He Award to encourage scholarly sea atlas in a compact oblong became an important pioneer research on New Netherland. format. This was his Thresoor in the development of safe For his efforts, H.M. Queen der Zeevaerdt (The Treasure navigation for trade along Beatrix of the Netherlands of Seagoing), which was Europe’s coasts, and shaped appointed Dr. Hendricks a compiled on similar lines as the tradition of seamen’s Knight in the Order of the Spieghel but with the text guides for long-distance ocean Orange–Nassau in 2009. altered and expanded, and with voyages. Waghenaer set a high the charts on a different scale standard for cartographers showing the coasts very much such as Willem Blaeu who Totidem Verbis in their true proportions. followed. [The Mirror and the Treasure: Harbors and estuaries appear The Dutch East India The Navigational Charts of in much greater detail than the Company was established in L.J. Waghenaer aka the intervening coastlines. It was 1602, so before Waghenaer’s Spieghel by Peter Douglas is cheaper and smaller than his death in 1606 he was able to hereby concluded.] previous work, and better see the first Dutch ships back adapted to the shipboard needs from the Indies at anchor in The English translation of the of the users. Like his earlier the harbor of his hometown. Spieghel by Anthony Ashley work, the Thresoor was His contribution to marine was published in the Armada intended for use in European cartography helped bring great year of 1588 as The Mariner’s waters, and included Scotland, wealth to others, but not to Mirror. The charts were much Ireland, and parts of the White himself. Despite the value and admired in England, and Sea and the Baltic. Reflecting success of his publications, sailors called them the the expanding global outlook Waghenaer died in poverty, near-homophonic familiar of Dutch navigation, it also leaving his widow in such word “waggoners,” after their included coastal details of the needy circumstances that the maker. Mediterranean, plus a municipal authorities of Waghenaer’s Spieghel was supplementary section, with Enkhuisen were moved to ask printed in a large folio, along text only, describing the States General to provide with colorful and detailed navigation to the East Indies her with a pension. depictions of ships, sea and China. Waghenaer’s name also creatures, legends, navigation Waghenaer’s last pilot- survives marginally in the instruments, and wind roses. book was his Enchuyser science of oceanography: the The lavishness of the Zeecaertboeck (Enkhuisen Sea Waghenaer Fracture Zone is decoration did not mean, Chart Book), published in named for him, a long narrow however, that geographical 1598. Here he returned to the rift in the ocean floor of the accuracy came second. The old style of a simple pilot’s Pacific. Such is fame. meticulous nature of the maps’ pocket book in octavo. It was W