Made by Jacob Salomonsz Savary on the basis of the design by Claude Rivet, published by Claes Jansz. Visscher
The Netherlands, 1650
Engraving: 59 x 212 cm; List: 83 x 240 cm
Original condition
When Joan Blaeu published his townbook at the end of the Eighty Years' War, this panoramic view of Leiden from the south was made, on four large sheets. On the lower left the engraving is dedicated to the governors of the city and university of around 1646. Two reading putti and the goddess of wisdom Pallas (in auricular style), decorate the cartouche. The names of the main buildings are mentioned directly in the view. At the top left we see the coat of arms of Holland with the lion, at the top right there are the keys in the coat of arms of Leiden. The embellishment of the print is beautiful and shows the clothes of the time. The architecture is depicted accurately, except for a few details, such as the top of the southern transept of the Hooglandse Kerk, which is represented with onion-shaped forms. The rightmost (fourth) sheet of the engraving is important, because it shows us the situation on the east side of the city (between Nieuwe and Oude Rijn) after 1644 and before the last extension of 1659. Also one gets a good impression of the old Hogewoerd gate at the Kraaierstraat. Claude Rivet (1603 -1647), son of the famous theologian André Rivet, was registered as a student at the University of Leiden on 1 October 1620. He was in the service of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange as "nobleman ordinaris" and as an engineer of "His Majesty of France". We know that 150 guilders were paid to Claude Rivet on April 23, 1640, for making this stunning piece.
Provenance:
The Netherlands private collection
14.500,- euro
