Van de Passe family
Encyclopedia
Crispijn van de Passe the Elder, or de Passe (c.1564, Arnemuiden
- buried 6 March 1637, Utrecht
) was a Dutch publisher and engraver and founder of a dynasty of engravers comparable to the Wierix family
and the Sadelers
, though mostly at a more mundane commercial level. Most of their engravings were portraits, book title-pages, and the like, with relatively few grander narrative subjects. As with the other dynasties, their style is very similar, and hard to tell apart in the absence of a signature or date, or evidence of location. Many of the family could produce their own designs, and have left drawings.
, and trained and worked in Antwerp, then the centre of the printmaking
world, with hugely productive workshops producing work for publishers with excellent distribution arrangements throughout Europe. By 1585 he was a member of the artists' Guild of Saint Luke
, and doing work for Christopher Plantin. Much of this was work engraving the paintings of Martin de Vos, whose wife's niece Magdalena de Bock Crispijn married. The disruptions of the Dutch Revolt
scattered these artists across Northern Europe; de Passe was an Anabaptist
, which made his position especially difficult. He first moved to Aachen
, until Protestants were also expelled from there. He started his own engraving and publishing business in Cologne
in 1589, but again was forced to leave in 1611. He set up in business in Utrecht
, by about 1612, where he created engravings for the English and other markets, and where he died in 1637. His works include a famous rendition of the English Gunpowder Plot
ters, although it is not known what basis he had for the likenesses.
The family's prints are not rare and are well represented in most print room
s, and the National Portrait Gallery in London.
as royal engraver and designer of medals in 1624, where he remained until his death. He is best remembered for his early London print of Pocahontas
(1616). Crispijn II (ca. 1597-1670) worked in Paris
, at least from 1617 to 1627, in Utrecht (1630–1639), and from then until his death in Amsterdam
; his work on the "Maneige royal" ("Instructions to the king on how to ride a horse") of Antoine de Pluvinel
is considered by Hind the finest work of the dynasty. Willem de Passe (ca. 1598- ca. 1637), the least productive of the siblings, took over from his brother in England, probably after working in France, and died in London, perhaps of plague. He joined the Huguenot
church in Threadneedle Street
in 1624, and his wife Elizabeth may have been the daughter of the English publisher Thomas Jenner. Magdalena van de Passe
(1600–1638) was, like her siblings, born in Cologne and died in Utrecht. She specialized in landscapes until her marriage to the minor artist Frederick van Bevervoorden in 1634, after which she essentially stopped engraving, even though her husband died in 1636. The business presumably involved shipping drawings, engraved printing plates, and printed copies around Europe between the various cities involved. After the three deaths in 1637-38 only Crispijn II in the Netherlands
and Simon in Denmark remained, and Crispijn II's later years were unsuccessful. Crispijn III was a more minor figure who died in 1678.
Arnemuiden
Arnemuiden is a small city of around 5000 people in the municipality of Middelburg in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. It is located on the former island of Walcheren, about 3 km east of the city of Middelburg.It received city rights in 1574....
- buried 6 March 1637, Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
) was a Dutch publisher and engraver and founder of a dynasty of engravers comparable to the Wierix family
Wierix family
The Wierix family were a Flemish dynasty of printmakers in engraving in the 16th and early 17th centuries, active in Antwerp and Brussels....
and the Sadelers
Aegidius Sadeler
The Sadeler family were the largest, and probably the most successful of the dynasties of Flemish engravers that were dominant in Northern European printmaking in the later 16th and 17th centuries, as both artists and publishers...
, though mostly at a more mundane commercial level. Most of their engravings were portraits, book title-pages, and the like, with relatively few grander narrative subjects. As with the other dynasties, their style is very similar, and hard to tell apart in the absence of a signature or date, or evidence of location. Many of the family could produce their own designs, and have left drawings.
Crispijn the Elder
Crispijn van de Passe I was born in Arnemuiden in ZeelandZeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
, and trained and worked in Antwerp, then the centre of the printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
world, with hugely productive workshops producing work for publishers with excellent distribution arrangements throughout Europe. By 1585 he was a member of the artists' Guild of Saint Luke
Guild of Saint Luke
The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was identified by John of Damascus as having painted the...
, and doing work for Christopher Plantin. Much of this was work engraving the paintings of Martin de Vos, whose wife's niece Magdalena de Bock Crispijn married. The disruptions of the Dutch Revolt
Dutch Revolt
The Dutch Revolt or the Revolt of the Netherlands This article adopts 1568 as the starting date of the war, as this was the year of the first battles between armies. However, since there is a long period of Protestant vs...
scattered these artists across Northern Europe; de Passe was an Anabaptist
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
, which made his position especially difficult. He first moved to Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, until Protestants were also expelled from there. He started his own engraving and publishing business in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
in 1589, but again was forced to leave in 1611. He set up in business in Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
, by about 1612, where he created engravings for the English and other markets, and where he died in 1637. His works include a famous rendition of the English Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
ters, although it is not known what basis he had for the likenesses.
The family's prints are not rare and are well represented in most print room
Print room
A print room is either a room or industrial building where printing takes place, or a room in an art gallery or museum, where a collection of old master and modern prints, usually together with drawings, watercolours and photographs, are held and viewed. The latter meaning is the subject of this...
s, and the National Portrait Gallery in London.
The second generation
Four of Crispijn I's children were also notable engravers for the family business, as was his grandson Crispijn III. His eldest son, Simon de Passe (c. 1595-6 May 1647) worked in England from about 1616 before moving to CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
as royal engraver and designer of medals in 1624, where he remained until his death. He is best remembered for his early London print of Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
(1616). Crispijn II (ca. 1597-1670) worked in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, at least from 1617 to 1627, in Utrecht (1630–1639), and from then until his death in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
; his work on the "Maneige royal" ("Instructions to the king on how to ride a horse") of Antoine de Pluvinel
Antoine de Pluvinel
Antoine de Pluvinel was the first of the French riding masters, and has had great influence on modern dressage. He wrote L’Instruction du Roy en l’exercice de monter à cheval , was tutor to King Louis XIII, and is credited with the invention of using two pillars, as well as using shoulder-in to...
is considered by Hind the finest work of the dynasty. Willem de Passe (ca. 1598- ca. 1637), the least productive of the siblings, took over from his brother in England, probably after working in France, and died in London, perhaps of plague. He joined the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
church in Threadneedle Street
Threadneedle Street
Threadneedle Street is a street in the City of London, leading from a junction with Poultry, Cornhill, King William Street and Lombard Street, to Bishopsgate....
in 1624, and his wife Elizabeth may have been the daughter of the English publisher Thomas Jenner. Magdalena van de Passe
Magdalena van de Passe
Magdalena van de Passe , was an engraver and important member of the Van de Passe family of artists from Cologne who were active in the Northern Netherlands.-Biography:...
(1600–1638) was, like her siblings, born in Cologne and died in Utrecht. She specialized in landscapes until her marriage to the minor artist Frederick van Bevervoorden in 1634, after which she essentially stopped engraving, even though her husband died in 1636. The business presumably involved shipping drawings, engraved printing plates, and printed copies around Europe between the various cities involved. After the three deaths in 1637-38 only Crispijn II in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Simon in Denmark remained, and Crispijn II's later years were unsuccessful. Crispijn III was a more minor figure who died in 1678.
Major works
- Hortus Floridus, mostly by Crispijn II.
- Heroologia Anglica, 1620. Sixty-five portraits of English notables, by various members of the family
External links
- British Library online database has 1838 items by or after the family
- Spamula feature
- Another biography