Large view of Rome with the Tiber Island
| Reference: | S45612 |
| Author | Willem II van NIEULANDT |
| Year: | 1602 ca. |
| Zone: | Isola Tiberina |
| Printed: | Antwerpen |
| Measures: | 578 x 415 mm |
| Reference: | S45612 |
| Author | Willem II van NIEULANDT |
| Year: | 1602 ca. |
| Zone: | Isola Tiberina |
| Printed: | Antwerpen |
| Measures: | 578 x 415 mm |
Description
Large view of Rome with the Tiber Island at centre, the bridge (Ponte Fabricio) at left, fishermen unloading their boats in right foreground; with dedication to Jan de Cock at top centre; printed from two separate plate.
Etching, circa 1602-1605, lettered with dedication in top centre: "ORNATISSIMO VIRO IOANNI DE COCK OMNIS ANTIQVITATIS ÆSTIMATORI / IN AMICITIÆ ET GRATI ANIMI SYMBOLVM GVILIELMVS DE NIEVLANDT. L.M.DD.". Signed within image, in lower centre (inscription over two plates): "Guilielmus van Nieulandt fecit et excud. Antuerpiæ.". Lettered in lower margin, four columns with four lines; in Latin and Dutch: "Aspice bis terno ... / ... modo Bartholomæi" and "Siet hier de Roomsche brug ... / ... en de brugh Sainct Bart'lameio".
Extremely impressive etching showing a wide-ranging view of the River Tiber and Tiber Island in Rome, which was made by the Antwerp painter, draughtsman and etcher, Willem van Nieulandt the Younger, also known as Terranova.
The print originally counts 3 sheets; the one on the left depicts the Ponte Fabricio or Broken Bridge exclusively. Only 2 complete examples of the work are known (London, BM and Amsterdam, Rijks Museum). At other times, only these two main sheets of the composition are found; even the only two sheets of the work are incredibly rare.
Nieulandt provides a panoramic view of the surroundings of the Isola Tiberina as he perceived them during his sojourn in Rome (approx. 1599 to 1604). The right of the image offers a view of the picturesque Tiber Island with the Church of San Bartolomeo all’Isola and the two ancient bridges, Pons Cestius und Pons Fabricius, which were erected in the first century B.C. The artist pays very close attention to the genre-like detail. In the foreground fishermen are sorting their catch, while the effectively foreshortened boats enhance the spatial effect and give the evocative scene added local colour. The swirling waters of the River Tiber rush beneath the Ponte Rotto and, having passed it, flow more gently past either side of Tiber Island. One delightful detail is of an artist – probably Nieulandt himself – sat in a rowing boat drawing the panoramic scene.
The lower margin of the etching contains two four-line handwritten texts in Latin and Dutch. They comprise a topographical description of the scene and a reference to the fact that the print was also intended for customers from other countries. As Nieulandt notes on the sheet, it was he himself who first published this prestigious work in Antwerp. Having spent some time in the studio run by Jacob Savery in Amsterdam, which was followed by a lengthy stay in Rome as an assistant to Paul Bril, the artist returned to his native Antwerp in about 1605. He became a member of the local Guild of St. Luke and was granted the freedom of the city not long afterwards.
According to Willem Adriaan te Slaa, the Grand View of Rome is in all probability one of van Nieulandt’s earliest printed works and represents his first attempt at using several plates for a single print. The dedication to Ioanni de Cock in the upper part of the picture is almost certainly a reference to the landscape painter, Jan de Cock (before 1591–1625/26 Antwerp). Van Nieulandt’s astonishing work is of special significance not just because of its topographical, cultural and historical relevance, but also – and in particular – in view of its exquisite rarity. Hollstein was aware of only one impression of the etching – in the British Museum in London. In 1992 the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam also managed to acquire an impression.
A very fine, contrasting and even impression with traces of thread margins around the platemark, trace of vertical and horizontal folds, a print crease at le left side, minor ageing and traces of handling, otherwise in excellent condition.
Bibliografia
Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts c.1450-1700 (9a).
Willem II van NIEULANDT (Anversa 1584 – Amsterdam 1635)
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Willem or Guiliam van Nieulandt, sometimes Terranova (1584–1635) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, engraver, poet and playwright from Antwerp. His father Adrien van Nieulandt the elder was born to a family of artists of Flemish origin from Antwerp. He moved with his family to Amsterdam in 1589, after the Siege of Antwerp, probably because they were Protestants. His three sons Willem van Nieulandt II (named for his uncle, also a painter), Adriaen van Nieulandt the younger, and Jacob van Nieulandt all became painters. Having spent some time in the studio run by Jacob Savery in Amsterdam, which was followed by a lengthy stay in Rome as an assistant to Paul Bril, the artist returned to his native Antwerp in about 1605. He became a member of the local Guild of St. Luke and was granted the freedom of the city not long afterwards. In Spring 1606 the 22-year-old married Anna Hustaert in Amsterdam, but the couple settled in Antwerp. Nieulandt was better known as a poet and playwright than as a painter. He was a member of the Antwerp chamber of rhetoric the Olyftack (Olive Branch) from 1613 to 1621, transferring to the rival Violieren from 1621 to 1629. In May 1620 he won the prize for best poem at a rhetoric competition in Mechelen, writing under the pen name Dient uwen Al (Serve your All). In May 1624 the Violieren produced his play Aegyptica (a tragedy on the theme of Anthony and Cleopatra). His daughter Constantia, who later married Adriaen van Utrecht, was likewise a well regarded poet. At some point after May 1629 he returned to Amsterdam, where he lived until his death in 1635.
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Willem II van NIEULANDT (Anversa 1584 – Amsterdam 1635)
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Willem or Guiliam van Nieulandt, sometimes Terranova (1584–1635) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, engraver, poet and playwright from Antwerp. His father Adrien van Nieulandt the elder was born to a family of artists of Flemish origin from Antwerp. He moved with his family to Amsterdam in 1589, after the Siege of Antwerp, probably because they were Protestants. His three sons Willem van Nieulandt II (named for his uncle, also a painter), Adriaen van Nieulandt the younger, and Jacob van Nieulandt all became painters. Having spent some time in the studio run by Jacob Savery in Amsterdam, which was followed by a lengthy stay in Rome as an assistant to Paul Bril, the artist returned to his native Antwerp in about 1605. He became a member of the local Guild of St. Luke and was granted the freedom of the city not long afterwards. In Spring 1606 the 22-year-old married Anna Hustaert in Amsterdam, but the couple settled in Antwerp. Nieulandt was better known as a poet and playwright than as a painter. He was a member of the Antwerp chamber of rhetoric the Olyftack (Olive Branch) from 1613 to 1621, transferring to the rival Violieren from 1621 to 1629. In May 1620 he won the prize for best poem at a rhetoric competition in Mechelen, writing under the pen name Dient uwen Al (Serve your All). In May 1624 the Violieren produced his play Aegyptica (a tragedy on the theme of Anthony and Cleopatra). His daughter Constantia, who later married Adriaen van Utrecht, was likewise a well regarded poet. At some point after May 1629 he returned to Amsterdam, where he lived until his death in 1635.
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