DOCSLIB.ORG

Liège and Strasbourg (1528–1577)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Liège and Strasbourg (1528–1577) CHAPTER TWO FROM GOLDSMITHS TO PUBLISHERS: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE DE BRY FAMILY 2.1. The early years: Liège and Strasbourg (1528–1577) When Theodore de Bry was born in Liège in 1527 or 1528, nothing foretold he was to be the founder of one of the most remarkable pub- lishing fi rms of early modern Europe (ill. 1).1 Like many generations of De Brys before him,2 he was trained as a goldsmith, and it was in the 1530s and 1540s in the local goldsmiths’ guild that he served his apprenticeship, almost certainly with his father. In a singular reference to his youth in the preface to one of his publications of the 1590s, De Bry writes that he was “the offspring of parents born to an honourable station and was in affl uent circumstances and in the fi rst rank of the more honoured inhabitants of Liège”.3 Theodore’s father of the same name had indeed been a prominent guild member and magistrate since the early 1520s,4 responsible for making a reliquary and several chalices for St. Lambert’s cathedral around 1550.5 1 The best studies available are: M. Sondheim, “Die De Bry, Matthaeus Merian und Wilhelm Fitzer”, Philobiblon 6 (1933) 9–34; Idem, “Die De Bryschen Grossen Reisen”, Het Boek 24 (1936–37) 331–64; W. K. Zülch, Frankfurter Künstler 1223–1700 (Frankfurt 1935) 365–68, 439–42; P. Colman, “Un grand graveur-éditeur d’origine liégeoise: Théodore de Bry”, La Wallonie II (1978) 189–93; Gossiaux (1985) 111–20. 2 Colman (1978) 189; J. Brassinne, “Les trois Thiry de Bry”, Chronique archeologique du pays de Liège I (1906) 13–17 ; Th. Gobert, Liège à travers les ages (11 vols., 2nd ed.; Brussels 1975–78) IX 438. 3 App. 1, nr. 39 [A3v]: “. qui & parentibus honesto loco natis progeneratus, & opi- bus affl uens, atque adeò inter honorationes Leodii vel primarius fuerim”. The English translation is taken from: M. S. Giuseppi, “The work of Theodore de Bry and his sons, engravers”, Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London XI (1915–17) 204. 4 Brassinne (1906) 14, describes Theodore’s father as a ‘commissaire de la cité’ from 1536. On his position in the guild: J. Breuer, Les orfèvres du pays de Liège. Une liste de membres du métier [Bulletin de la Société des bibliophiles liégeois XIII ] (Liège 1935) nr. 174; E. Poncelet and E. Fairon, “Liste chronologique d’actes concernant les métiers et confrèries de la cité de Liège”, Annuaire d’histoire liégeoise III (1943–47) 649. 5 X. van den Steen de Jehay, Essai historique sur l’ancienne cathédrale de St.-Lambert à Liège (Liège 1846) 201, 210. VAN GROESEN_F4_51-78.indd 51 12/17/2007 7:31:48 PM 52 chapter two Ill. 1. Portrait of Theodore de Bry (1597) De Bry never entered the guild as a master, and apparently worked for his father until his departure from Liège before 1560. No work from this period survives, and information on these years is limited. Prominent artists could have exerted infl uence on the young Theodore, and one such suggestion, De Bry’s supposed relationship with the Liège-born painter Lambert Lombard, has proved attractive.6 After returning from Italy in 1539, Lombard founded the ‘Académie Liégeoise’ to kick-start the Renaissance in the Prince-Bishopric. Members of this informal school of art and architecture included the engravers Lambert Suavius and Hubertus Goltzius, as well as the geographer Abraham Ortelius.7 Theodore’s acquaintance with Ortelius should have awakened his 6 Gossiaux (1985) 111–13, esp. n. 17; J. Yernaux, “Lambert Lombard”, Bulletin de l’Institut archéologique liègeois LXXII (1957–58) 360. 7 On the academy of Lambert Lombard: S. Collon-Gevaert, ed., Lambert Lombard et son temps (Liège 1966a); G. Denhaene, ed., Lambert Lombard: renaissance en humanisme te Luik (Liège 1990). VAN GROESEN_F4_51-78.indd 52 12/17/2007 7:31:50 PM.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Around Spitsbergen - in the Realm of Polar Bear & Ice (Ortelius)
    AROUND SPITSBERGEN - IN THE REALM OF POLAR BEAR & ICE (ORTELIUS) Take a cruise around Spitsbergen and explore the icy waters of the North Atlantic. This special expedition offers you the chance to catch site of whales, reindeer, Arctic foxes, walruses, seals, and the star attraction, the polar bear. Heading north along the west coast, you arrive by morning in Krossfjorden. Here you might board the Zodiacs for a cruise near the towering blue-white face of the Fourteenth of July Glacier. We cruise to Hinlopen Strait, home to bearded and ringed seals as well as polar bears. At the entrance there is even the possibility to spot blue whales. We hope to make landings in Freemansundet, though polar bears sometimes make this impossible. Potential stops on Barentsøya include Sundneset (for an old trapper’s hut), Kapp ITINERARY Waldburg (for its kittiwake colony), and Rindedalen (for a walk Day 1: Largest town, biggest island across the tundra). You touch down in Longyearbyen, the administrative center of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago. Enjoy strolling around this former mining town, whose parish church and Svalbard Museum make for fascinating attractions. Though the countryside appears stark, more than a hundred species of plant have been recorded in it. In the early evening the ship sails out of Isfjorden, where you might spot the first minke whale of your voyage. Day 2: Cruising Krossfjorden Heading north along the west coast, you arrive by morning in Krossfjorden. Here you might board the Zodiacs for a cruise 01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com near the towering blue-white face of the Fourteenth of July in this area.
    [Show full text]
  • Ortelius's Typus Orbis Terrarum (1570)
    Ortelius’s Typus Orbis Terrarum (1570) by Giorgio Mangani (Ancona, Italy) Paper presented at the 18th International Conference for the History of Cartography (Athens, 11-16th July 1999), in the "Theory Session", with Lucia Nuti (University of Pisa), Peter van der Krogt (University of Uthercht), Kess Zandvliet (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), presided by Dennis Reinhartz (University of Texas at Arlington). I tried to examine this map according to my recent studies dedicated to Abraham Ortelius,1 trying to verify the deep meaning that it could have in his work of geographer and intellectual, committed in a rather wide religious and political programme. Ortelius was considered, in the scientific and intellectual background of the XVIth century Low Countries, as a model of great morals in fact, he was one of the most famous personalities of Northern Europe; he was a scholar, a collector, a mystic, a publisher, a maps and books dealer and he was endowed with a particular charisma, which seems to have influenced the work of one of the best artist of the time, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Dealing with the deep meaning of Ortelius’ atlas, I tried some other time to prove that the Theatrum, beyond its function of geographical documentation and succesfull publishing product, aimed at a political and theological project which Ortelius shared with the background of the Familist clandestine sect of Antwerp (the Family of Love). In short, the fundamentals of the familist thought focused on three main points: a) an accentuated sensibility towards a mysticism close to the so called devotio moderna, that is to say an inner spirituality searching for a direct relation with God.
    [Show full text]
  • Motifs in Peter Paul Rubens's the Martyrdom of Saint
    113 ‘Indian’ motifs in Peter Paul Rubens’s The martyrdom of Saint Thomas and The miracles of Saint Francis Xavier* Barbara Uppenkamp Introduction In his painting for the altar of the Augustinian church in Prague representing the martyrdom of Saint Thomas in India, Peter Paul Rubens faced the difficult task of having to depict, as faithfully as possible, the unfamiliar location where the dramatic events unfurled (fig. 1).1 The legend that Thomas was an architect of Roman antiquity who went to India to build a palace might have prompted Rubens to combine elements of classical Roman architecture with others, which to him and his contemporaries would have suggested an Indian setting. The purpose of this study is to examine Rubens’s knowledge of Asian architecture and sculpture as deduced from sources that were available to him. To this end, reference will be made above all to the stock of his extensive library as documented by three sources.2 The most important of these are the journals of the Officina Plantiniana, where his book purchases are recorded. Besides this, Rubens’s wide-ranging correspondence gives an impression of the vast breadth of his erudition. Finally, the auction catalogue of the library belonging to his son Albert (1614-1657) indicates which books had probably been in Rubens’s possession, given that Albert inherited his father’s books.3 Accordingly, Rubens can be presumed to have owned the great cartographic works Civitates orbis terrarum by Georg Braun (1541-1622) and Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590), the Thesaurus geographicus by Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598), and L’histoire des Indes de Portugal by Fernão Lopes de Castanheda (c.
    [Show full text]
  • Haquin Spegel
    01 SVENSKA FÖRFATTARE UTGIVNA AV SVENSKA VITTERHETSSAMFUNDET –––––––– XXV SAMLADE SKRIFTER AV HAQUIN SPEGEL STOCKHOLM SAMLADE SKRIFTER AV HAQUIN SPEGEL UTGIVNA AV BERNT OLSSON OCH BARBRO NILSSON FÖRSTA DELEN GUDS WERK OCH HWILA VOLYM 2 KOMMENTAR SVENSKA VITTERHETSSAMFUNDET STOCKHOLM 1998 Utgiven med bidrag av Stiftelsen Riksbankens Jubileumsfond Abstract Samlade skrifter av Haquin Spegel, del I, volym 2, Guds Werk och Hwila. Ut- givna av Bernt Olsson och Barbro Nilsson. (Haquin Spegel, Collected Works I, volume 2, God’s Work and Rest. Edited by Bernt Olsson and Barbro Nilsson.) Skrifter utgivna av Svenska Vitterhetssamfundet. Svenska Författare IV, 592 p. Stockholm. ISBN 91-7230-073-6. Haquin Spegel (1645–1714) was one of the foremost leaders of the Swedish church in his time. His clerical career was swift. At the beginning of the 1670’s he was chaplain to Queen Hedvig Eleonora, and later he was with King Charles XI in the Scanian war 1675–79. For some years he was clerical leader of the island of Got- land, before he became bishop of Skara in 1685 and of Linköping in 1691. He died archbishop of Uppsala. Spegel wrote in many genres. His sermons are, from an artistic point of view, the best of the century in Sweden. Spegel also wrote poetry in different genres: Bible paraphrases, panegyrics and series of emblematics. The Swedish hymn-book of 1986 still contains hymns by him. But he also wrote entirely profane poetry, which has never been printed, mainly satirical poems. His most ambitious work, Guds Werk och Hwila (God’s Work and Rest) is about Creation and belongs to Hexameron literature.
    [Show full text]
  • Early American Material Leads the Way at Swann Galleries' Maps
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alexandra Nelson May 16, 2017 Communications Director 212-254-4710 ext. 19 [email protected] Early American Material Leads the Way At Swann Galleries’ Maps & Atlases Sale New York— On Wednesday, June 7, Swann Galleries will hold an auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books, with highlights from the colonization of the Americas, as well as botanical prints and original watercolors. The sale is led by Samuel Baker’s untrimmed and unjoined A New and Exact Map of the Island of St. Christopher in America, 1753, which shows the island, now better known as St. Kitts, divided into parishes with a wealth of early information relating to structures on the island, as well as the surrounding waters. The borders of each of the four sheets are decorated in an elaborate Baroque style; the map is valued between $20,000 and $30,000. Among other treasures, the sale promises a trove of rare early maps of the United States. Selections include a 1750 map of Pennsylvania by Lewis Evans, whose publication in Germany helped spark emigration to the state, resulting in the still-traditional Pennsylvania Dutch population ($10,000 to $15,000). John Ogilby and Arnoldus Montanus’s America: Being the Latest, and Most Accurate Description of the New World, 1673, will be offered at $10,000 to $15,000. There is also a run of rare island maps by Aaron Arrowsmith, including a 1830 chart of Hawaii, then called "The Sandwich Islands," which, according to an inscription on the back, was purchased in 1832 by a ship’s captain who made a voyage to the area two years later ($8,000 to $12,000).
    [Show full text]
  • WILLIAM R. TALBOT FINE ART, ANTIQUE MAPS & PRINTS 505-982-1559 • [email protected] • for Purchases, Please Call Or Email
    ILLIAM R TALT FIE ART, ATIE MAPS PRITS 129 West San Francisco Street • P. O. Box 2757, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504 505-982-1559 • [email protected] • www.williamtalbot.com FALL 2019 Abraham Ortelius’s FIRST EDITION WORLD MAP The present map is a depiction of the world from the Age of Discovery and the earliest edition of Abraham Ortelius’s famous world map rendered in magnificent color. Ortelius was a great compiler of newly discovered geographical facts and information. His New World mapping is also a study in early conjecture, including a generous northwest passage below the Terra Septentrionalis Incognita, and a projection of the St. Lawrence reaching to the middle of the continent. Ortelius’s map includes Terra Australis Nondum Cognita, reflecting the misconception held at the time of a massive southern continent, that incorporates Tierra del Fuego in this southern polar region rather than in South America. The relatively unknown regions across Northeast Asia distort the outline of Japan considerably. In the North Atlantic, the outline of Scandinavia is skewed, and Greenland appears very close to Abraham Ortelius (1528–1598). “Typus Orbis Terrarum,” (Antwerp: 1570). First Edition. Published in the Latin editions of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Double- North America. Ortelius published his world maps page copperplate engraving with full hand color and some original color. Signed by in his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, considered to be engraver l.r. “Franciscus (Frans) Hogenberg”. Latin text, verso: “Orbis Terrarum.” the first modern atlas, with 70 copper engravings and “I”. 13 3/32 x 19 7/16” to neatline. Sheet: 15 9/16 x 20 3/4”.
    [Show full text]
  • Cannibals. Eurocentric Worldviews Appeared in Place Names, Such As New Spain Or New
    The Occasional Papers Series No. 9 A Philip Lee Phillips Map Society Publication From Alterity to Allegory: Depictions of Cannibalism on Early European Maps of the New World James Walker i The Occasional Papers A Philip Lee Phillips Map Society Publication Editorial Staff: Ralph E. Ehrenberg Managing Editor Ryan Moore Chief Editor, Design and Layout Michael Klein Editor Anthony Mullan Editor David Ducey Copy Editor Geography and Map Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C. Summer 2015 From Alterity to Allegory: Depictions of Cannibalism on Early European Maps of the New World James Walker Foreword The Philip Lee Phillips Map Society of the Library of Congress is a national support group that has been established to stimulate interest in the Geography and Map Division’s car- tographic and geographic holdings and to further develop its collections through financial dona- tions, gifts, and bequests. The Phillips Map Society publishes a journal dedicated to the study of maps and collections held in the Division known as The Occasional Papers. This install- ment focuses on images of cannibals on early European maps of the New World. I heard Dr. James Walker, the author, deliver a version of this paper while attending a conference at the Society for the History of Discoveries in Tampa, Florida in 2013. I was im- pressed with his discussion of a wide range of cartographic sources, including a number of im- portant holdings in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress. He synthe- sized an array of cartographic works and thoughtfully commented on how the imagery on the borders of the early European maps of the New World presented a false impression of both the land and people that was believed to be true by many Europeans.
    [Show full text]
  • Abraham Ortelius)
    ABRAHAM OERTEL (ABRAHAM ORTELIUS) “NARRATIVE HISTORY” AMOUNTS TO FABULATION, THE REAL STUFF BEING MERE CHRONOLOGY “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project Abraham Ortelius HDT WHAT? INDEX ABRAHAM ORTELIUS ABRAHAM OERTEL 1527 April 14, Sunday (Old Style): Abraham Ortelius or Oertel was born in Antwerp, in the Seventeen Provinces region ruled by the Habsburgs of Austria. He was, therefore, Flemish, but the family had originated in Augsburg, a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. Following the death of his father, his uncle Jacobus van Meteren would return from religious exile in England to care for him. He would remain close to his cousin Emanuel van Meteren who would later relocate to London. NOBODY COULD GUESS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT Abraham Ortelius “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX ABRAHAM OERTEL ABRAHAM ORTELIUS 1535 The authorities began to suspect that the family of Abraham Ortelius, secretly, was a Protestant one. In Germany, the Anabaptist city of Münster capitulated to the Hessian army. The leader John of Leiden would be tortured to death and his rotting corpse would be displayed permanently in a cage attached to the spire of St. Lambert’s Church. HDT WHAT? INDEX ABRAHAM OERTEL ABRAHAM ORTELIUS 1547 After an apprenticeship as a map-engraver Abraham Ortelius entered the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke as an illuminator of maps. He would be supplementing this income by trading in books, prints, and maps, and his journeys would therefore include yearly visits to the book and print fair at Frankfurt, Germany. CARTOGRAPHY German cavalrymen were reported as carrying wheel-lock pistols, in scabbards slung from their saddles and in addition stuffed into their boots.
    [Show full text]
  • Museum Plantin- Moretus
    MUSEUM PLANTIN- MORETUS GROUND FLOOR STAIRCASE WELCOME Welcome to the Plantin-Moretus Museum. This was the home and workplace of Chris- tophe Plantin and the Moretus family. For 300 years books were the heart and soul of this place, and they still are. Who lived here? Who worked here? What exactly did they print? What kind of know- ledge and ideas travelled from the house to the four corners of the world, beyond the frontiers of Europe? Downstairs you will meet Christophe Plan- tin: forefather, businessman, manager, hu- manist* and printer. Upstairs you can have a close look at the beautiful books that were printed in this house, from richly illustra- ted bibles to simple almanacs. Here and there you will see reproduc- tions of books that were printed on the premises. They are for you to pick up and enjoy. We wish you a pleasant visit. * From A to Z Humanism? Folio or quarto? What is a breviary? A number of terms need to be explained. At the back of the visitor guide 7 you will find a glossary. THE SMALL DRAWING ROOM 1 THE GOLDEN COMPASSES A 17th-century traveller describes the hous- es of wealthy Antwerp citizens as ‘...solid and constructed with good materials. They are beauti- ful too because they are built in long and straight lines. The entrance gates are adorned with car- vings and in the gardens there are sculptures.’ The Plantin-Moretus Museum is an exam- ple of such a solid and well-built house belonging to an affluent Antwerp family. It contains more than 30 rooms.
    [Show full text]
  • GERARDUS MERCATOR RUPELMUNDANUS Cartographer & Renaissance Man Carlos Van Caiiwenherghe Former Head of Hydrographic Service, Belgium
    page 16 bU''0 GERARDUS MERCATOR RUPELMUNDANUS Cartographer & Renaissance Man Carlos van Caiiwenherghe Former Head of Hydrographic Service, Belgium Introduction An insight into the life of Geradus Mercator (1512-1594) can be found via several basic sources Firstly, there is his biography published in 1595 by his friend, Walter Ghim, Mayor of Duisburg in Germany This introduced his celebrated Atlas ctmtaining 107 maps (Mercator, 1595) published after Mercator's death by his son, Rumold Secondly, there is his surviving correspondence and there are also accounts of his life by other contemporaries such as the cartographer Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) and the Flemish historian, Antonius Sanderus (1586-1664) Additionally, much historical information was provided by Mercator himself, mainly in the form of prefaces to his works or as notes on his many maps while the archives of the University of Louvain also provide additional details on this very talented and versatile Renaissance man Mainly revered as a cartographer. Mercator was nonetheless noted for many other abilities He was, for instance, an accomplished mathematician, philosopher, metaphysic, theologian, historian, geographer, land surveyor, engraver, instrument maker, calligrapher, astronomer and cosmographer But it was not until the 19th century that his true importance was rediscovered Childhood and education In Antwerp, Mercator first met the such as copper and wood At the same Gerardus Mercator (or Gerard de Oenier Flemish astronomer and cartographer, time he pursued studies in mathematics
    [Show full text]
  • The De Bry Collection of Voyages (1590-1634) Editorial Strategy and the Representations of the Overseas World
    UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) The De Bry collection of voyages (1590-1634) : editorial strategy and the representations of the overseas world van Groesen, M. Publication date 2007 Document Version Final published version Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): van Groesen, M. (2007). The De Bry collection of voyages (1590-1634) : editorial strategy and the representations of the overseas world. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:29 Sep 2021 The De Bry collection of voyages (1590-1634) Editorial strategy and the representations of the overseas world I Text Michiel van Groesen THE DE BRY COLLECTION OF VOYAGES (1590-1634) EDITORIAL STRATEGY AND THE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE OVERSEAS WORLD ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof.
    [Show full text]
  • GERARDUS MERCATOR (March 5, 1512 – December 2, 1594) by HEINZ KLAUS STRICK, Germany
    GERARDUS MERCATOR (March 5, 1512 – December 2, 1594) by HEINZ KLAUS STRICK, Germany The Belgian stamp of 1962 shows GERARDUS MERCATOR. In his hands he holds a globe with the outlines of America and East Asia. MERCATOR is considered the most important cosmographer of the 16th century (that is: "world describer"; from the Greek kosmos and graphein). His work became the basis for the development of the science of geography and cartography. In order to become independent of Arab, Ottoman and Venetian intermediaries, Portuguese navigators had begun to seek new routes to India. Under HENRY THE NAVIGATOR the coast of West Africa had been explored, and BARTOLOMEU DIAS was the first to sail round the southern tip of Africa in 1487. After the Reconquista, the Spanish also appeared on the scene and on their behalf, the Genoese CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS sailed west in 1492 to find a new sea route to India. On the basis of CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY's Geographia this was based on the assumption that Europe's east-west distance from Asia was too small. Around 150 AD, PTOLEMY had introduced the system of terrestrial longitude and latitude, which is still used today, and had recorded the coordinates of numerous places on the known globe in a catalogue. Since then, it was assumed that only about half of the earth was "known" (Europe, Asia and Africa). Thus the globe of the Nuremberg cloth merchant MARTIN BEHAIM from 1492 shows only the "known" part of the earth, the back of the globe is not inscribed (stamp on the left). The world map by MARTIN WALDSEEMÜLLER from 1507, however, already contained the newly discovered continent.
    [Show full text]