Ruckers

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harpsichord by Andreas Ruckers the Elder Ä. in the Museum of Arts and Crafts , Hamburg (1635)

The Ruckers (variants: Rückers , Rueckers ) were the best known Flemish harpsichord makers from Antwerp in the 16th and 17th centuries.

family members

Hans Ruckers (* 1533/55; † 1598 in Mechelen ) was the founder of the family dynasty. He settled in Antwerp in 1575; that year he married in the cathedral. In 1579 he was approved as a musical instrument maker by the Sankt-Lukas-Gilde, the Antwerp guild for artisans and artists.

Two of his sons also became instrument makers.

Harpsichord by Andreas I. Ruckers around 1620 in the Musikinstrumenten-Museum Berlin ; in the background an instrument by Johannes Ruckers around 1628.

Johannes Ruckers (* 1578, † 1642) took over the business after the death of his father; he was approved by the guild in 1611. His area of ​​responsibility was the maintenance of the organs in several churches in the Antwerp area.

Andreas I. Ruckers (* 1579; † after 1645) first worked with his brother and then set up his own workshop in the neighborhood.

His son Andreas II. Ruckers (* 1607; † before 1667) received the approval of the guild after his apprenticeship with his father in 1637. Most likely, he worked together with the father and only survived him by three years. His sister, Anna Catherina Ruckers (* 1615; † after 1672), was the second wife (oo 1644) of the Dutch still life painter Jan Davidsz. de Heem .

Johannes Couchet (* 1615; † 1655), son of Catharina Ruckers, a daughter of Hans Ruckers, learned and worked in the workshop of his uncle Johannes until his death in 1642. In the following year 1643 the guild took him into their ranks on. His reputation as a harpsichord maker exceeded that of the Ruckers. He had several children who also followed in the family's footsteps, but no longer matched that of their ancestors in their craftsmanship.

Musical instruments

Double virginal ("Mother and Child") by Johannes Ruckers the Elder. J., Antwerp, 1623; Exhibit in the House of Music , Württemberg State Museum, Stuttgart
Ruckers harpsichord from 1624

About 130 instruments from the period between 1580 and 1680 have survived the centuries. In their great variety of shapes and quality, they form the most remarkable and representative example of the Flemish school. Among them are spinets , virginals , muselaars as well as one and two manual harpsichords. The rarest instruments are the harpsichords known as "mother and child". These are two instruments placed on top of one another that can be played at the same time.

The remarkable sound of the Ruckers and Couchet harpsichords made them the most sought-after instruments of their time. The nobility and the most famous artists, especially in the Dutch and French regions of the 17th and 18th centuries, owned these instruments.

Several Ruckers instruments are portrayed by the keyboard instrument collector Andreas Beurmann in an illustrated book about his collection. Some of the instruments are on display in the Hamburg Museum of Art and Crafts in the Beurmann Collection.

Harpsichords from the Ruckers family were among the top products in keyboard instrument making in their day. This later applied to pianos from the Augsburg family Johann Andreas Stein , then to English pianos from Broadwood , then to the French manufacturers Pleyel and Erard , and from the end of the 19th century to Steinway & Sons . Ruckers harpsichords are therefore among the icons of historical music performance practice and also among collectors.

Others

The asteroid Ruckers is named after the musical instrument maker Hans Ruckers .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e family tree on ruckersgenootschap.be (PDF; 275 kB)
  2. ^ Andreas Beurmann: Historical keyboard instruments, Prestel 2000 publishing house, ISBN 3791323091 , ISBN 978-3791323091

Web links