The most productive printmaker of Haarlem in the early seventeenth century, Van de Velde etched and engraved almost five hundred prints, of which two hundred are landscapes. His views seem to merge observation with invention. Many include ruins, to which the artist may have been attracted for their suggestions of the brevity of life or for their poetic, visual qualities.
The most productive printmaker of Haarlem in the early seventeenth century, Van de Velde etched and engraved almost five hundred prints. About two hundred of these are landscapes, many of which he designed himself, and they often include architectural ruins—including Roman, medieval, imaginary hybrids, or simply derelict buildings. The thematic role of such ruins were many: they could serve as reminders of the glories of the Dutch past, as references to the destruction of war, or to the specter of former dominance by the Roman church and the nobility, as well as to the brevity of temporal power.
The ruined buildings in the left portion of this print appear to represent a formerly prosperous manor house and may have attracted the artist’s eye both for their allusions to the vanity of earthly pursuits, a common Dutch theme, and for their poetic, visual qualities. The allusion to destruction contrasts with the harmonious calm of this scene with peasants and burghers shown in harmony.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
The most productive printmaker of Haarlem in the early seventeenth century, Van de Velde etched and engraved almost five hundred prints, of which two hundred are landscapes. His views seem to merge observation with invention. Many include ruins, to which the artist may have been attracted for their suggestions of the brevity of life or for their poetic, visual qualities.
The most productive printmaker of Haarlem in the early seventeenth century, Van de Velde etched and engraved almost five hundred prints. About two hundred of these are landscapes, many of which he designed himself, and they often include architectural ruins—including Roman, medieval, imaginary hybrids, or simply derelict buildings. The thematic role of such ruins were many: they could serve as reminders of the glories of the Dutch past, as references to the destruction of war, or to the specter of former dominance by the Roman church and the nobility, as well as to the brevity of temporal power.
The ruined buildings in the left portion of this print appear to represent a formerly prosperous manor house and may have attracted the artist’s eye both for their allusions to the vanity of earthly pursuits, a common Dutch theme, and for their poetic, visual qualities. The allusion to destruction contrasts with the harmonious calm of this scene with peasants and burghers shown in harmony.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
The sitter Jan Torrentius (1589-1644) was a painter in Amsterdam. He was known for his still lifes and obscene subject matter. In 1627, the year before this portrait was made, Torrentius was arrested, tried in court, and tortured for being the alleged head of the Rosicrucian sect in Holland. Condemned to death by burning, he was instead sentenced to twenty years in prison. He was freed in 1630 by the intervention of the English ambassador, who brought Torrentius to London. Upon his return to Amsterdam, Torrentius was again tried and this time died from the effects of torture.
Inscription
Watermark: crown with fleur de lis On back: Wurzbach 40 II of ii/ V den K 40
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Signed in the plate, l.r. in image: "J.V. Velde. fecit." Inscribed in the plate, l.c. below image: "AQUA."; l.l. below image: "Frugum terra Parens superatur ab aequor vasto,/Quo nibil utilius Navita habere potest."; l.r. below image: "Delphini nobis veniunt hinc atque balenae,/Et reliqui pisces qui nutriumtur aqua."; l.r. below image: "WB/4" Verso, collector's mark stamped in purple ink, l.r.: AB in shield (Lugt 79b) Verso, inscribed in graphite, bottom center: "Fr.de.K. 137" Watermark: Large, vertically divided shield with half-eagle on left, surmounted by a crown, letters "WAM(GFN?)" below; somewhat similar to Heawood 570-574.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Signed in the plate, l.l. in image : "J.V.Velde.fecit." Inscribed in the plate, l.c. below image: "TERRA."; l.l. below image: "Terra suas ostentat opes, et munera ruris/Setigeros que suos, ruricolos que boves."; l.r. below image: "Donaque largitur que mittit divite cultu/Vel faecunda Hales vel rubicunda Ceres."; l.r. below image: "WB/1" Verso, collector's mark stamped in purple ink, l.r.: AB in shield (Lugt 79b) Verso, inscribed in pencil, bottom center: "Fr.de.K. 134" Watermark: none visible.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Signed in the plate, l.r. in image: "J.V. Velde fecit." Inscribed in the plate, l.c. below image: "AER."; l.l. below image: "Aer iam sequitur: animae vitalis origo:/Quo sine nil vivit quicquid in orbe datur."; l.r. below image: "Mobilis assiduo faecundat semine terram,/Hic regnantque Noti, Pennigerique greges."; l.r. below image: "WB 2" Verso, collector's mark stamped in purple ink, l.r.: AB in shield (Lugt 79b) Verso, inscribed in graphite, l.r.: "Fr.de.K. 135" Watermark: none visible.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Jan van de Velde, the most prolific printmaker of Haarlem in the early seventeenth century, mainly reproduced the designs of other artists, including Willem Buytewech. The latter was one of the most original and creative Dutch artists of the early seventeenth century. In his suite depicting the four elements—earth, water, fire, and air—Buytewech transformed the traditional manner of representing an element by a single large, symbolic figure. Instead he depicted many figures realistically engaged in activities relating to earth, water, fire, or air. Buytewech’s preparatory drawing for fire, a scene of firing cannons, was set in the daytime. Van de Velde transformed Buytewech’s design into a nocturnal scene, using the darkness of night as a foil for the firing cannons’ fleeting light, which brightly illuminates the surrounding figures.
Signed in the plate, l.r. below image: "J.V. Velde.fecit." Inscribed in the plate, l.c. below image: "IGNIS"; l.l. below image: "Ignis alit mundum Princeps et viribus acer/Orbis fraena suo temperat arbitrio."; l.r. below image: "Lucida flammifero locat ignis sydera Caelo,/Per quae faecundo cuncta calore fovet."; l.r. below image: "WB 3" Verso, collector's mark stamped in purple ink, l.r.: AB in shield (Lugt 79b) Verso, inscribed in graphite, bottom center: "Fr.d. K. 136" Watermark: none visible.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
This sheet of sketches of barges and boats suggests that they were drawn from life and meant to capture the rich variety of life along a river. Two of the sketches along the bottom of the sheet show large piles of hay or similar materials; two smaller boats in the upper portion of the paper have smaller cargo. Three of these four sketches show the boats with an oarsman in the rear and are seen passing by from the bank or from another boat. At the upper right corner is a sketch of two boats, possibly tied up to a dock as both are seen end-on from the bows.
Subject Matter
This sketch is evidence of the interest in everyday life and subjects. The artist adroitly uses the slight wash indicating shadows to unify the setches as if they were seen concurrently, the untouched paper reading as the surface of the water.
Label Copy
Gallery Rotation Winter 2013
Jan van de Velde II
Netherlands, active 1593–1641
Study of Barges
1615–41
Graphite, pen and ink, and wash
Gift of the Joseph F. McCrindle Collection, 2009/1.517
These two small drawings attest to the rising importance in the seventeenth century of representations of everyday life. Such genre scenes were particularly popular with the prosperous art-buying citizens of the Dutch Republic, whose economy flourished as a result of unprecedented trade and commerce. In the foreground of Landscape with Peasants in a Cart the artist portrays a group of peasants making their way towards a town on the horizon. The diagonal lines of the composition direct the viewer towards the townscape in the distance where a tall, wooden steeple majestically rises above the buildings, penetrating the vast skyline. In Van de Velde’s Study of Barges, the simple composition emphasizes seven barges laden with goods, an important aspect of the new Dutch economy.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
