Romeyn de Hooghe etchings, 1667-ca.1700

Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Creators:

Abstract:

Collection contains 59 prints on 67 sheets. Some are signed by Romeyn de Hooghe, some are attributed to him, and several are in his style or copied after him. Most relate to contemporary political, historical events and figures in Europe, and depict elaborate scenes with many details of costume, settings and objects.

Extent:

59.0 prints (67 sheets)

Language:

Collection material is in Dutch; Flemish

Preferred citation:

Romeyn de Hooghe etchings, 1667-ca.1700, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. P850001.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifap850001

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains prints signed by Romeyn de Hooghe, prints attributed to him, and several in his style or copied after him. There are a total of 59 pieces on 67 sheets (one piece was subdivided into 9 sheets). They represent the various genres of De Hooghe's work, but they only constitute a small fraction of his oeuvre. Most relate to contemporary political events and figures. They usually depict elaborate scenes, with many details of costume, settings, and objects.

The seven allegories were mostly created as title pages or frontispieces; they depict exploration, ship building, and mythology. The two formal portraits depict John III of Poland and Servatius Galleus. Six Old Testament scenes depicting the tabernacle in the desert and parts of the Temple in Jerusalem may have served as book illustrations.

The remaining forty-four scenes deal with contemporary history related to the Netherlands, England, and France, some allegorically, some satirically, and some in a straightforward fashion. The eight general scenes include festival scenes--the funerals of Queen Mary and Fieldmarshal Paulus Wirtz, peace negotiations, and an allegory of the marriage of William and Mary. Others depict the political murder of Cornelis and Jan de Wit, the persecution of Protestants in France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), and William leaving for and arriving in England. Nine prints depict contemporary battle or war scenes: Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Parma taking Valenciennes; the seige of Leiden in 1574; English fortresses and bases; the war in Macassar (1666-1669); France terrorizing Dutch villages; Christian IV's conquest of Wismar; and the battle of Drogheda. As with the general histories and satires, the battle scenes are often marked with letters or numbers corresponding to a key provided alone or within a longer letterpress text.

The twenty-seven satirical scenes most often retain verses or other explanatory letterpress text beneath the image. Dom Johan Van de Velde's funeral, the murder of the brothers de Wit, Dutch cities, Dutch dealings and wars with Louis XIV, and the Catholic Church are all satirized in these prints. De Hooghe was well-known for his support of William of Orange, and most of these prints consequently attack James II and Louis XIV. The greater number of them were created in 1689-1690 and relate to the events of those years: the birth of the Prince of Wales ("the Old Pretender," son of James II and Mary of Modena), William's invasion of England, James II's flight to a refuge with Louis XIV in France, and William and Mary's assumption of power in England's Glorious Revolution.

Arrangement note

The etchings are arranged in 6 series: Series I: Allegories; Series II: Portraits; Series III: History: Old Testament Scenes; Series IV: History: Contemporary scenes; Series V: History: Battles and War; Series VI: Satire.

Biographical / historical:

Romeyn de Hooghe was born in Amsterdam in 1645 and worked there until c.1680-1682, when he moved to Haarlem, where he died in 1708. For several Netherlandish provinces, he created interior architectural paintings and other works. In 1662 De Hooghe was invited by Adam Frans van der Meulen (1632-1690) to Paris, where he etched the baptism of the Dauphin in 1668. There he met King Jan III Sobieski of Poland and was knighted by him in 1675.

De Hooghe painted, engraved, sculpted, designed medals, enameled, taught drawing school, and bought and sold art as a dealer. During the 1690s he made sculptures for the palace of Het Loo (1689-1692), designed and etched triumphal arches and medals for William III's entry into the Hague (1691), and designed the Haarlem market festival decorations for the peace celebration after the capture of Naumur (1695). His political, legal, and economic interests are evident in his writings: Schouburgh der Nederlandsche Veranderingen (1674), Æsopus in Europa (1701), Spiegel van Staat des Vereenigde Nederlanden (1706), and Hieroglyphica of Merkbeelden der oude Volkeren (1735), all of which he also illustrated. He was well-educated and may have attended law classes at a university in Harderwijk or Leiden.

De Hooghe's earliest print, after Nicolas Berchem, was made around 1662. He created about 3500 images, most after his own designs, some after other artists, for himself and other authors, publishers, and printers. His plates were often retouched and adapted for later events, sometimes by De Hooghe, sometimes by others. He etched allegories and mythological scenes, portraits, caricatures, political satires, historical subjects, landscapes, topographical views (especially of Netherlandish cities), battle scenes, genre scenes, title pages, and book illustrations. From 1667-1691 he illustrated various newspapers: Hollandsche Mercurius, Princelycke almanach, Orangien Wonderspiegel. The first political iconographer of the Netherlands and its first great caricaturist, De Hooghe was closely associated with William of Orange. He repeatedly caricatured James II and Louis XIV, sometimes using pseudonyms on his most audacious images. He was an expressive master of physiognomy; and his original, lively style displayed the baroque fashion for spectacular and allegorical fantasy. Romeyn de Hooghe was the most significant and prolific Netherlandish engraver in the second half of the seventeenth century.

Acquisition information:

Acquired 1985.

Processing information:

This collection was reorganized and cataloged by Anne-Marie Schaaf in April, May, and July 1996. The finding aid was completed in July 1996.

Physical location:

Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy.

Rules or conventions:

Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts

Indexed terms

Subjects:: Battles--Pictorial works
Political satire, Dutch--Pictorial works
Broadsides--Netherlands--17th century
Etchings--Netherlands--17th century
Prints--Netherlands--17th century

Access and use

Restrictions:: Open for use by qualified researchers.
Terms of access:: Contact Library Rights and Reproductions.