VISSCHER, Cornelis - b. ~1629 Haarlem, d. 1658 Amsterdam - WGA

VISSCHER, Cornelis

(b. ~1629 Haarlem, d. 1658 Amsterdam)

Dutch engraver and draughtsman. He was one of the most important and productive Dutch portrait draughtsmen and engravers of the 17th century, despite his early death.

He was probably a pupil of the Haarlem painter and engraver Pieter Soutman. In 1649-50 he made numerous portrait engravings for several print series published and supervised by Soutman. He was probably Soutman’s principal collaborator during this period, although the quantity of prints produced suggests that he was not the only one. After 1650 Visscher apparently set up independently. In 1653 he joined the Haarlem Guild of St Luke, but he must have moved to Amsterdam shortly thereafter.

In addition to portraits, he also did engravings of biblical scenes, genre scenes, landscapes, and animal studies.

Lieven Coppenol
Lieven Coppenol by

Lieven Coppenol

Lieven Willemsz van Coppenol (c. 1599-1671) was a well-known calligrapher. His family originates from the Spanish Netherlands from where his grandparents fled and settled in Haarlem about 1579. Van Coppenol appears to have taken part in the development of calligraphy at every level, from schoolboy competitions to publishing, teaching, corresponding with peers, and finally striving, obsessively, to be recognized as the greatest calligrapher. He was far from achieving that distinction, although he had considerable skill.

Van Coppenol commissioned portrait prints from Rembrandt also in 1658. Apparently Rembrandt’s prints never pleased the patron nor was the engraving by Visscher accepted.

Portrait of Andrea Odoni
Portrait of Andrea Odoni by

Portrait of Andrea Odoni

Cornelis Visscher was one of the most important and productive Dutch portrait engravers and draftsmen of the 17th century, despite his early death. He also did engravings of biblical scenes, genre scenes, landscapes, and animal studies.

Visscher engraved Lorenzo Lotto’s Portrait of Andrea Odoni in 1653 (in reverse) as a Correggio, when it was in an Amsterdam collection. The iconographical importance of the crucifix was not lost on the engraver; he slightly enlarged it. The format of the engraving is somewhat wider than that of Lotto’s painting.

Portrait of a Young Man
Portrait of a Young Man by

Portrait of a Young Man

The present portrait of a young man, head and shoulders is an example of Cornelis Visscher’s most typical works, the portrait drawings on vellum, drawn with a fine technique that indicates his apprenticeship to Peter Soutman, himself a pupil of Rubens. It demonstrates the soft hatching in different directions, which is typical of Visscher.

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