Pieter van der Borcht
One or more Flemish artists were active under the name of Pieter van der Borcht (dates between 1535 and 1608). Her places of work were in Mechelen , Antwerp and probably Brussels . The works, which are often only ascribed , are a large number of drawings , engravings , etchings and woodcuts , entire series of which were also used as book illustrations. The picture content includes biblical and mythological themes, genre scenes, monthly pictures and botanical representations.
identity
Despite the large number of works, the life path of (or the) Pieter van der Borcht (sws) is not even remotely conclusive. There are two explanations: Either it was an extraordinarily productive and versatile artist (according to Hanschke) or two, maybe even four people whose creative periods overlapped or who worked together (according to Sterre).
The work, which comprises several thousand images, the different techniques (drawings, engravings, woodcuts), but above all the range of the image content, make the activity of several people likely. There are also stylistic differences in the figure drawing and in the representation of background landscapes. It may also be workshop work with third-party services.
Biographical fragments
Three facts are likely to have determined the essential boundary conditions for the creation of the works: the spatial proximity of the cities of Mechelen, Antwerp (about 20 km north) and Brussels (about 25 km south); Mechelen evidently had an important, economically successful painting tradition; the upheavals caused by the reign of terror of the Duke of Alba , which forced many artists to flee Mechelen in 1572.
1. From 1552 to at least 1592 an artist was active in Mechelen who provided both etchings and woodcuts with the name “Petrus van der Borcht” . From 1564 this artist worked for the publisher Christoph Plantin (3000 drawings), before that for Bartholomeus de Momper .
2. From 1552 worked an artist in Mechelen, woodcuts with the initials "PB" signed .
3. In 1580 a painter with the similar name "Pieter Verborcht" became a master in the Guild of St. Luke in Antwerp, which he headed from 1589 (or 1591) to 1592 as dean.
4. A painter from Mechelen was granted civil rights in Antwerp in 1597 . Possibly this artist was the son of Jacob van der Borcht and the brother of the painting dealer Pauwels van der Borcht.
5. Two other artists of the same name lived in Brussels at the beginning of the 17th century.
Works (selection)
The following works are apparently all signed with "Petrus van der Borcht" :
- Illustrations for Imagines et figurae bibliorum ( Henri Janssen Barrefelt ), 100 etchings (1582–1585)
- Landscapes with the story of Abraham , 6 copper engravings (1586)
- Illustrations to the Fables of Aesop (1593)
- Supplement to Hortorum viridariorumque elegantes ... ( Hans Vredeman de Vries ), 6 copper engravings (1583)
- "Great rural wedding festival", copper engraving (1560)
- "Big ice-skating festival in Malines (Mechelen)", copperplate engraving (1559)
Stylistic abnormalities
The execution of the figures in the “Rural Wedding Festival” of 1560 (unformed, squat) differs from those in the “Imagines” (graceful, slim). The rocky mountains in the biblical stories closely resemble the landscapes of Lucas Gassel . Twelve monthly pictures (undated) with picture frames on their own plate by Lucas van Doetecum were previously ascribed to Hans Bol , which at least for a spring picture with a garden labyrinth in the background still seems plausible. The illustrations for Rembert Dodoens Cruydt-Boek ("Herb Book") probably required good botanical knowledge, which suggests another artist; On top of that, this book with woodcuts appeared as early as 1548 (13 editions up to 1616).
literature
- Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Hollstein: Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings, and woodcuts. Volume 3. Menno Hertzberger, Amsterdam [1950], pp. 99-106.
- Ulrike Hanschke: Pieter van der Borcht. In: General Artist Lexicon. The visual artists of all times and peoples. Volume 12. Saur, Munich and Leipzig 1996. ISBN 3-598-22752-3 ; P. 677.
- Jetty E. van der Sterre: Borcht, Pieter van der. In: The dictionary of art. Edited by Jane Turner. Volume 4. Macmillan, London 1996, ISBN 1-884446-00-0 ; P. 384.
