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Van't Light der teken en schilder konst
Detail
La prima [-quinta] parte della luce del dipingere et disegnare
Van't Light der teken en schilder konst
Author: Crispin van de Passe II (Dutch (worked in France), about 1597–1670)
Illustrated by: Crispin van de Passe II (Dutch (worked in France), about 1597–1670)
Illustrated by: Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) (Italian (Bolognese), 1591–1666)
Illustrated by: Abraham Bloemaert (Dutch, about 1564–1651)
Illustrated by: Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617)
Illustrated by: Giovanni Lanfranco (Italian, 1582–1647)
Illustrated by: Jean Cousin II (French, 1522–1594)
Illustrated by: Cavaliere D'Arpino (Giuseppe Cesari) (Italian (Roman), 1568–1640)
Illustrated by: Jusepe de Ribera (Spanish (active in Italy), 1591–1652)
Illustrated by: Roelandt (Roelant) Jacobsz. Savery (Flemish, 1576–1639)
Engraved by: Crispin van de Passe II (Dutch (worked in France), about 1597–1670)
Engraved by: Willem van de Passe (Netherlandish, 1598?–before 1637)
Engraved by: Robert van Voerst (Netherlandish, 1597–1635 or 1636)
Publisher: Jan Jansson (Dutch, 1588–1664)
Publisher: Crispin van de Passe II (Dutch (worked in France), about 1597–1670)
Publisher: Joan Blaeu (Dutch, 1596–1673)
After: Jacques Stella (French, 1596–1657)
Illustrated by: Crispin van de Passe II (Dutch (worked in France), about 1597–1670)
Illustrated by: Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) (Italian (Bolognese), 1591–1666)
Illustrated by: Abraham Bloemaert (Dutch, about 1564–1651)
Illustrated by: Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617)
Illustrated by: Giovanni Lanfranco (Italian, 1582–1647)
Illustrated by: Jean Cousin II (French, 1522–1594)
Illustrated by: Cavaliere D'Arpino (Giuseppe Cesari) (Italian (Roman), 1568–1640)
Illustrated by: Jusepe de Ribera (Spanish (active in Italy), 1591–1652)
Illustrated by: Roelandt (Roelant) Jacobsz. Savery (Flemish, 1576–1639)
Engraved by: Crispin van de Passe II (Dutch (worked in France), about 1597–1670)
Engraved by: Willem van de Passe (Netherlandish, 1598?–before 1637)
Engraved by: Robert van Voerst (Netherlandish, 1597–1635 or 1636)
Publisher: Jan Jansson (Dutch, 1588–1664)
Publisher: Crispin van de Passe II (Dutch (worked in France), about 1597–1670)
Publisher: Joan Blaeu (Dutch, 1596–1673)
After: Jacques Stella (French, 1596–1657)
1643–44
Place of Publication: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Medium/Technique
Illustrated book with 194 engravings, and four woodcuts
Dimensions
Overall: 38 x 26 x 4.3 cm (14 15/16 x 10 1/4 x 1 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur E. Vershbow in honor of Sue Welsh Reed
Accession Number2010.223
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsIllustrated books
Amsterdam: Jan Jansz. and the author, 1643-1644
Catalogue Raisonné
Franken, de Passe, 1374; Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish, v. 16, p. 146, no. 191; Brunet IV, 413; J. Bolten, Dutch & Flemish Drawing Books, pp. 27-47
Description(Amsterdam: Jan Jansz. and the author, 1643–1644) Folio, five parts; (Part 1) engraved title, letterpress title, [2 ff.], pp. 13-73 [i.e., 71; incl. pls. I-XXX], pls. I-VI; (Pt. 2) letterpress title, [3 ff.], folding plate of drawing class, pp. 1-15 [incl. pls. I-VII], pls. VIII-XXV [lacking pl. XV (& XXVI?)], pp. 1-[24; incl. pls. I-XI]; (Pt. 3) letterpress title, pls. I-XVII [plus second I], lacking pls. II, V, XVI]; (Pt. 4) [2 ff.] pls. I-XIV, [4 woodcuts on blue paper numbered XV-XVIII], XIX-XLII, [4 pls. numbered XLII-XLV in pen]; (Pt. 5) pp. 1-24 [incl. pls. I-XII], pls. XIII-LXVII [sic=XLVII; lacking XVI], [2 ff.] pls. I-XII, I-VI, [1 f. index]; contemporary Dutch blind-stamped vellum boards.
This volume is divided into five parts, treating (1) parts of the body and expressions, plus infant studies; (2) male nude studies and measurements, plus figural perspective; (3) female nude studies; (4) mannequins and figure studies (many after other artists); and (5) animals, birds, fish, and insects. Part 1 is dated 1643 on the title; Parts 2 and 3 are dated 1644; Parts 4 and 5 carry no dates.One of the largest drawing books published, van de Passe's volume contains some 200 illustrations in its complete form, including (as here) a notable double-page engraving of a drawing class, depicting students seated around a nude male model, each drawing on a tablet, with two teachers offering critiques, the entire scene illuminated by a ceiling lantern. The letterpress index at the end of the volume calls for 200 "figures." This copy contains 198 plates, including the engraved title and the folding plate of the drawing school (see description for plate description). In addition, the letterpress title pages for parts 1-3 also contain the same engraved printer's mark of de Passe.
The double-page engraving of a drawing class at the "Academy of Painters in Rome" is from the second part following the introductory letterpress; the caption is on the verso of the part-title. Bound into the fourth part are four woodcuts of saints printed on blue paper; the first cut has a letterpress caption at bottom: "[star] F ROMÆ / XV" They appear to be copies after the woodcuts by Maupin after Jacques Stella (impressions of the Maupin blocks in MFA: 68.322, 324, 329, 339).
Bibliographic description of this title is complex, as most copies differ in one or more respects, probably reflecting the episodic nature of van de Passe's printing of this manual. The most problematic sections are the fourth and fifth parts. The plates in this copy differ in various respects from those reproduced in the 1974 facsimile (e.g., plates XXIX and XXXIII in part 5 are in earlier states in this copy. In Part 2, plate XVIII in this copy differs from that reproduced in the facsimile; plate XXI is in reverse from the facsimile. Several pages are misnumbered in this copy, and apparently corrected later, as revealed in the facsimile. See department files for complete notes.
MFA owns another copy of the drawing book (DP *NC705.P37); its contents are mixed up and it lacks a number of plates present in this Vershbow copy. Other copies in this country are located at the Getty (2 copies), National Gallery of Art, and Princeton University.
Although model books for artists had existed as early as the medieval era in manuscript, and printed treatises on such subjects as anatomy and perspective began appearing in the sixteenth century, such detailed "how-to" volumes specifically meant to teach drawing were not published until the early seventeenth century. Their very purpose in the workshop has resulted in their great rarity today, from being traced, cut apart, and used so much that many copies have simply been used to death.
This volume is divided into five parts, treating (1) parts of the body and expressions, plus infant studies; (2) male nude studies and measurements, plus figural perspective; (3) female nude studies; (4) mannequins and figure studies (many after other artists); and (5) animals, birds, fish, and insects. Part 1 is dated 1643 on the title; Parts 2 and 3 are dated 1644; Parts 4 and 5 carry no dates.One of the largest drawing books published, van de Passe's volume contains some 200 illustrations in its complete form, including (as here) a notable double-page engraving of a drawing class, depicting students seated around a nude male model, each drawing on a tablet, with two teachers offering critiques, the entire scene illuminated by a ceiling lantern. The letterpress index at the end of the volume calls for 200 "figures." This copy contains 198 plates, including the engraved title and the folding plate of the drawing school (see description for plate description). In addition, the letterpress title pages for parts 1-3 also contain the same engraved printer's mark of de Passe.
The double-page engraving of a drawing class at the "Academy of Painters in Rome" is from the second part following the introductory letterpress; the caption is on the verso of the part-title. Bound into the fourth part are four woodcuts of saints printed on blue paper; the first cut has a letterpress caption at bottom: "[star] F ROMÆ / XV" They appear to be copies after the woodcuts by Maupin after Jacques Stella (impressions of the Maupin blocks in MFA: 68.322, 324, 329, 339).
Bibliographic description of this title is complex, as most copies differ in one or more respects, probably reflecting the episodic nature of van de Passe's printing of this manual. The most problematic sections are the fourth and fifth parts. The plates in this copy differ in various respects from those reproduced in the 1974 facsimile (e.g., plates XXIX and XXXIII in part 5 are in earlier states in this copy. In Part 2, plate XVIII in this copy differs from that reproduced in the facsimile; plate XXI is in reverse from the facsimile. Several pages are misnumbered in this copy, and apparently corrected later, as revealed in the facsimile. See department files for complete notes.
MFA owns another copy of the drawing book (DP *NC705.P37); its contents are mixed up and it lacks a number of plates present in this Vershbow copy. Other copies in this country are located at the Getty (2 copies), National Gallery of Art, and Princeton University.
Although model books for artists had existed as early as the medieval era in manuscript, and printed treatises on such subjects as anatomy and perspective began appearing in the sixteenth century, such detailed "how-to" volumes specifically meant to teach drawing were not published until the early seventeenth century. Their very purpose in the workshop has resulted in their great rarity today, from being traced, cut apart, and used so much that many copies have simply been used to death.
InscriptionsPen and ink front pastedown: "HENR: WHITE, LICHFIELD: OCTOBRIS XV. MDCCCXXII / RARISS."; pen and ink front flyleaf: "Hans Busk bought at Whites Sale"
ProvenanceBy 1822, Rev. Henry White (b. 1761 - d. 1836), Lichfield, England; acquired at White sale by Hans Busk. By 1985, Marlborough Rare Books, London; 1985, acquired from Marlborough by Arthur E. and Charlotte Vershbow; 2010, gift of Arthur E. Vershbow to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 14, 2010)