Johann Theodor de Bry
Encyclopedia
Theodorus de Bry was an engraver, goldsmith
and editor
who traveled around Europe, starting from the city of Liège
(where he was born and grew up), then to Strasbourg
, Antwerp, London
and Frankfurt
, where he settled.
Theodorus de Bry created a large number of engraved illustrations for his books. Most of his books were based on first-hand observations by explorers, even if De Bry himself, acting as a recorder of information, never visited the Americas. To modern eyes, many of the illustrations seem formal but detailed.
, to a family who had escaped the destruction of the city of Dinant
in 1466 by the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good and his son Charles the Bold. As a man he trained under his grandfather, Thiry de Bry senior (? - 1528), and under his father, Thiry de Bry junior (1495–1590), who were jewelers and engravers, engraving copper plates. The art of copper plate engraving was the technology of that time required for printing images and drawings as part of books. In 1524, Thiry de Bry junior married Catherine le Blavier, daughter of Conrad le Blavier de Jemeppe. Their son, Theodorus de Bry, also became a jeweler, engraver and book editor and publisher, famous most notably for his depictions of early European expeditions to the Americas
.
Around 1570, Theodorus de Bry, a protestant, fled religious persecution south to Strasbourg
, along the west bank of the Rhine. In 1577, he moved to Antwerp in the Duchy of Brabant
, which was part of the Spanish Netherlands or Southern Netherlands
and Low Countries
of that time (16th Century), where he further developed and used his skills as a copper engraver. Between 1585 and 1588 he lived in London, where he met the geographer Richard Hakluyt
and began to collect stories and illustrations of various European explorations, most notably from Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues.
In 1588, Theodorus and his family moved permanently to Frankfurt-am-Main, where he became citizen and began to plan his first publications. The most famous one is known as Les Grands Voyages, i.e., "The Great Travels", or "The Discovery of America". He also published the largely identical "India Orientalis-series", as well as many other illustrated works on a wide range of subjects. His books were published in Latin, and were also translated into German, English and French to reach a wider reading public.
In 1590 Theodorus de Bry and his sons published a new, illustrated edition of Thomas Harriot
's A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia about the first English settlements in North America (in modern-day North Carolina
). His illustrations were based on the watercolor paintings of colonist John White
. The book sold well and the next year de Bry published a new one about the first French attempts to colonize Florida. It had accounts of Jean Ribault
and René de Laudonnière about the attempt to found the French colony of Fort Caroline
and 43 illustrations based on paintings of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, one of the few survivors of Fort Caroline. Jacques de Moyne had planned to publish his account of his expeditions but died 1587. According to de Bry's account, he had bought de Moyne's paintings from his widow in London and used them as a basis for the engravings.
He and his son John-Theodore (1560–1623) made adjustments to both the texts and the illustrations of the original accounts, on the one hand in function of his own understanding of Le Moyne's paintings, and, most importantly, to please potential buyers. The Latin and German editions varied markedly, in accordance with the differences in estimated readership. Amerindians look like Mediterranean Europeans and illustrations mix different tribal customs and artifacts. In addition to day-to-day life of the American natives, Theodore de Bry even included a few depictions of cannibalism
. All in all, the vast amount of these illustrations and texts influenced the European perception of the New World, Africa, and Asia.
The verisimilitude of many of de Bry's illustrations is questionable; not least because he never crossed the Atlantic. Modern archaeologists and historians have noticed a number of misunderstandings and mistakes. Florida archaeologist Jerald T. Milanich has expressed doubts that Theodorus de Bry really used le Moyne's original paintings, because, according to his sources, most of le Moyne's surviving illustrations are botanical. But perhaps that these botanical illustrations were not bought by T. de Bry. As the botanical part was left in England, separated from the other illustrations which T. de Bry took with him, when going back to his family at Frankfurt, Germany, that may explain this apparent discrepancy.
Among other works he engraved a set of twelve plates illustrating the Procession of the Knights of the Garter in 1587, and a set of thirty-four plates illustrating the Procession at the Obsequies of Sir Philip Sidney
; plates for Thomas Harriot
's Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia
(Frankfurt, 1590); the plates for the six volumes of Jean-Jacques Boissard
's Romanae Urbis Topogrephia et Antiquitates (1597–1602); and, with Boissard, a series of 100 portraits and biographies of humanists and protestants entitled Icones Virorum Illustrium (1597–1599).
De Bry had been assisted by his two sons, Johann Theodor de Bry
(1561–1623) and Johann Israel de Bry (1565–1609) who after their father's death in Frankfurt-am-Main on 27 March 1598 carried on the Collectiones (expanded to voyages in Asia, reaching 30 volumes) and the illustration of Boissard's work, and also added to the Icones and other significant publications, like Robert Fludd's works on the microcosm and macrocosm.
His work and engravings can today be consulted at many museums around the world, including Liège, his birthplace, and at Brussels in Belgium. In France, they are housed at the Library of the Marine Historical Service, at the "Château de Vincennes", on the outskirt of Paris. In the USA, there are copies at the Public Library of New York, at the University of California at Los Angeles, and elsewhere. At Argentina is possible to find copies at Museo Maritimo de Ushuaia, at Tierra del Fuego and at the Navy Department of Historic Studies, at Buenos Aires. In Scotland, eleven titles are listed in the catalogue of Edinburgh University Library (Special Collections).
Last but not least, his engravings, which were in black and white have recently been put into colors, which adds a new dimension to his masterpieces [Bouyer M. & Duviols J.-P., 1992]
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
who traveled around Europe, starting from the city of Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
(where he was born and grew up), then to Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Antwerp, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, where he settled.
Theodorus de Bry created a large number of engraved illustrations for his books. Most of his books were based on first-hand observations by explorers, even if De Bry himself, acting as a recorder of information, never visited the Americas. To modern eyes, many of the illustrations seem formal but detailed.
Life
Theodorus de Bry was born in 1528 in Liege, east of today's (2008) BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, to a family who had escaped the destruction of the city of Dinant
Dinant
Dinant is a Walloon city and municipality located on the River Meuse in the Belgian province of Namur, Belgium. The Dinant municipality includes the old communes of Anseremme, Bouvignes-sur-Meuse, Dréhance, Falmagne, Falmignoul, Foy-Notre-Dame, Furfooz, Lisogne, Sorinnes, and Thynes.-Origins to...
in 1466 by the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good and his son Charles the Bold. As a man he trained under his grandfather, Thiry de Bry senior (? - 1528), and under his father, Thiry de Bry junior (1495–1590), who were jewelers and engravers, engraving copper plates. The art of copper plate engraving was the technology of that time required for printing images and drawings as part of books. In 1524, Thiry de Bry junior married Catherine le Blavier, daughter of Conrad le Blavier de Jemeppe. Their son, Theodorus de Bry, also became a jeweler, engraver and book editor and publisher, famous most notably for his depictions of early European expeditions to the Americas
European colonization of the Americas
The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement in present day Newfoundland...
.
Around 1570, Theodorus de Bry, a protestant, fled religious persecution south to Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, along the west bank of the Rhine. In 1577, he moved to Antwerp in the Duchy of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
, which was part of the Spanish Netherlands or Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
and Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
of that time (16th Century), where he further developed and used his skills as a copper engraver. Between 1585 and 1588 he lived in London, where he met the geographer Richard Hakluyt
Richard Hakluyt
Richard Hakluyt was an English writer. He is principally remembered for his efforts in promoting and supporting the settlement of North America by the English through his works, notably Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America and The Principal Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and...
and began to collect stories and illustrations of various European explorations, most notably from Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues.
In 1588, Theodorus and his family moved permanently to Frankfurt-am-Main, where he became citizen and began to plan his first publications. The most famous one is known as Les Grands Voyages, i.e., "The Great Travels", or "The Discovery of America". He also published the largely identical "India Orientalis-series", as well as many other illustrated works on a wide range of subjects. His books were published in Latin, and were also translated into German, English and French to reach a wider reading public.
In 1590 Theodorus de Bry and his sons published a new, illustrated edition of Thomas Harriot
Thomas Harriot
Thomas Harriot was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer, and translator. Some sources give his surname as Harriott or Hariot or Heriot. He is sometimes credited with the introduction of the potato to Great Britain and Ireland...
's A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia about the first English settlements in North America (in modern-day North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
). His illustrations were based on the watercolor paintings of colonist John White
John White (surveyor)
John White was an English artist, and an early pioneer of English efforts to settle the New World. He was among those who sailed with Richard Grenville to North Carolina in 1585, acting as artist and mapmaker to the expedition. During his time at Roanoke Island he made a number of watercolor...
. The book sold well and the next year de Bry published a new one about the first French attempts to colonize Florida. It had accounts of Jean Ribault
Jean Ribault
Jean Ribault was a French naval officer, navigator, and a colonizer of what would become the southeastern United States. He was a major figure in the French attempts to colonize Florida...
and René de Laudonnière about the attempt to found the French colony of Fort Caroline
Fort Caroline
Fort Caroline was the first French colony in the present-day United States. Established in what is now Jacksonville, Florida, on June 22, 1564, under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière, it was intended as a refuge for the Huguenots. It lasted one year before being obliterated by the...
and 43 illustrations based on paintings of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, one of the few survivors of Fort Caroline. Jacques de Moyne had planned to publish his account of his expeditions but died 1587. According to de Bry's account, he had bought de Moyne's paintings from his widow in London and used them as a basis for the engravings.
He and his son John-Theodore (1560–1623) made adjustments to both the texts and the illustrations of the original accounts, on the one hand in function of his own understanding of Le Moyne's paintings, and, most importantly, to please potential buyers. The Latin and German editions varied markedly, in accordance with the differences in estimated readership. Amerindians look like Mediterranean Europeans and illustrations mix different tribal customs and artifacts. In addition to day-to-day life of the American natives, Theodore de Bry even included a few depictions of cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
. All in all, the vast amount of these illustrations and texts influenced the European perception of the New World, Africa, and Asia.
The verisimilitude of many of de Bry's illustrations is questionable; not least because he never crossed the Atlantic. Modern archaeologists and historians have noticed a number of misunderstandings and mistakes. Florida archaeologist Jerald T. Milanich has expressed doubts that Theodorus de Bry really used le Moyne's original paintings, because, according to his sources, most of le Moyne's surviving illustrations are botanical. But perhaps that these botanical illustrations were not bought by T. de Bry. As the botanical part was left in England, separated from the other illustrations which T. de Bry took with him, when going back to his family at Frankfurt, Germany, that may explain this apparent discrepancy.
Among other works he engraved a set of twelve plates illustrating the Procession of the Knights of the Garter in 1587, and a set of thirty-four plates illustrating the Procession at the Obsequies of Sir Philip Sidney
Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...
; plates for Thomas Harriot
Thomas Harriot
Thomas Harriot was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer, and translator. Some sources give his surname as Harriott or Hariot or Heriot. He is sometimes credited with the introduction of the potato to Great Britain and Ireland...
's Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
(Frankfurt, 1590); the plates for the six volumes of Jean-Jacques Boissard
Jean-Jacques Boissard
Jean-Jacques Boissard was a French antiquary and Latin poet.He was born at Besançon and educated at Leuven; but disgusted by the severity of his master, he secretly left the seminary there, and travelled through Germany to Italy, where he remained several years and was often reduced to poverty...
's Romanae Urbis Topogrephia et Antiquitates (1597–1602); and, with Boissard, a series of 100 portraits and biographies of humanists and protestants entitled Icones Virorum Illustrium (1597–1599).
De Bry had been assisted by his two sons, Johann Theodor de Bry
Johann Theodor de Bry
Theodorus de Bry was an engraver, goldsmith and editor who traveled around Europe, starting from the city of Liège , then to Strasbourg, Antwerp, London and Frankfurt, where he settled....
(1561–1623) and Johann Israel de Bry (1565–1609) who after their father's death in Frankfurt-am-Main on 27 March 1598 carried on the Collectiones (expanded to voyages in Asia, reaching 30 volumes) and the illustration of Boissard's work, and also added to the Icones and other significant publications, like Robert Fludd's works on the microcosm and macrocosm.
His work and engravings can today be consulted at many museums around the world, including Liège, his birthplace, and at Brussels in Belgium. In France, they are housed at the Library of the Marine Historical Service, at the "Château de Vincennes", on the outskirt of Paris. In the USA, there are copies at the Public Library of New York, at the University of California at Los Angeles, and elsewhere. At Argentina is possible to find copies at Museo Maritimo de Ushuaia, at Tierra del Fuego and at the Navy Department of Historic Studies, at Buenos Aires. In Scotland, eleven titles are listed in the catalogue of Edinburgh University Library (Special Collections).
Last but not least, his engravings, which were in black and white have recently been put into colors, which adds a new dimension to his masterpieces [Bouyer M. & Duviols J.-P., 1992]
Works
- 1590-1634 Bry (Theodore de). Collectiones peregrinatiorum in Indiam orientalem et Indiam occidentalem, XIII partibus comprehenso a Theodoro, Joan-Theodoro de Bry, et a Matheo Merian publicatae. Francofurti. 1590-1634. Fol. (Parts I to VI, edited and illustrated by T. de Bry, parts VII to IX by his sons, Johann Theodor and Johann Israel de B.; parts X to XII by J. T. de B., and part XIII by M.Merian.)
- 1596 (America. Part VI.) Historiae ab A. Bezono ... scriptae, sectio tertio....in hac reperies qua natione Hispani... Peruani regni provincias occuparint, capto rege Atabaliba, etc. (3d part of G. Benzoni's Historia del Mondo Nuovo.) Map and plates, 2 parts. Frankfurt. 1596. Fol.
- 1617 (Second edition.) Oppenheimii. 1617. Fol.
- 1595 (German edition.) Frankfurt. 1595. Fol.
- 1613 (Second German edition.) Frankfurt. 1613. Fol.
- 1599 (America. Part VII.) Descriptionem trium itinerum. . .equitis F. Draken....J. Hauckens.. .G. Ralegh ... in Latinum sermonem conversaauctore G. Artus. Maps and plates. 3 pt. Francofurti. 1599. Fol.
- 1625 (Second edition.) Francofurti. 1625. Fol.
- 1602 (America. Part IX.) De novi orbis natura (by J.de Acosta). Accessit... S. de Weert and...O. a. Noort ....Plates. 5 pt. Francofurti. 1602. Fol.
- 1633 (Second edition.) Francofurti. 1633. Fol.
- 1601 (German edition.) Yon Gelegenheit der elemente natur de Neuer Welt. J. H. v. Linschoten. Frankfurt. 1601. Fol.
- 1602 (Latin and German edition.) Frankfurt. 1602.
- 1620 (Latin ancofurti. 1634. Fol.
External links
- Théodore de Bry of Liège: portrait, biography, masterpieces (in French).
- Les collections artistiques de l'Université de Liège
- La Renaissance liègeoise et la lutte contre la réforme (in French)
- Theodore de Bry and his illustrated Voyages and Travels
- Contents of Grands Voyages, by Theodore de Bry. German and Latin Editions.
- De Bry's Grand Voyages. Early Expeditions To The New World.
- The Roanoke Colony of "Virginia" from De Bry's Grand Voyages.
- De Bry Copper Plate Engravings
- Index of White watercolors/De Bry Engravings
- Picturing the new World: Hand-colored DeBry Engravings of 1590.
- http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/cdm4/results.php?CISORESTMP=/cdm4/results.php&CISOVIEWTMP=/cdm4/item_viewer.php&CISOMODE=grid&CISOGRID=thumbnail,A,1;title,A,1;subjec,A,1;type,A,1;none,A,0;20;title,none,none,none,none&CISOBIB=title,A,1,N;creato,A,0,N;subjec,200,0,N;none,A,0,N;none,A,0,N;20;title,none,none,none,none&CISOTHUMB=20%20(4x5);title,none,none,none,none&CISOTITLE=20;title,none,none,none,none&CISOHIERA=20;creato,title,none,none,none&CISOTYPE=link&CISOOP1=all&CISOFIELD1=title&CISOBOX1=&CISOOP2=all&CISOFIELD2=publis&CISOBOX2=&CISOOP3=all&CISOFIELD3=subjec&CISOBOX3=&CISOOP4=all&CISOFIELD4=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOBOX4=engraving+flanders&c=all&CISOROOT=%2Fp4017coll6Grand Voyages prints] Birmingham Public Library (Alabama)
- Théodore de Bry, Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues and the Timucua Indians Gallica, la bibliothèque numérique (Bibliothèque nationale de France)
- Theodor de Bry´s Engravings about America
- Johan Theodor de Bry in Rijksmuseum
- The Maps in De Bry