[Quakers Meeting] Quaakers Vergadering. Fronti Nulla Fides. The Quakers Meeting

Book Description

Amsterdam: Published by Carel Allard, circa 1675. Engraving. Printed on laid paper. In excellent condition with the exception of being trimmed within the plate mark on all sides. Light crease through center where it has been folded. Skillfully repaired tear on bottom margin. Bottom right corner has been reattached. A number of tiny tear on upper edge of sheet. Image size: 14 1/4 x 19 1/2 inches. 16 1/8 x 20 inches. This fascinating, satirical print of a Quakers' meeting was executed by Carel Allard after the celebrated Dutch genre painter Egbert van Heemskerk, the younger. The Heemskerk family of painters, originally from Haarlem, settled in London in the 1670s where they garnered a reputation for fine genre scenes in the Dutch manner. Egbert was the pupil of Pieter Grebbers for a short period of time but he was influenced more by his father, whose style and subject matter he imitated in his paintings. Heemskert continued the Dutch tradition of peasant paintings but he had a particular penchant for humorous social scenes, such as this satirical representation of a Quaker meeting house. The cause for mirth here would not be as apparent to modern audiences as it was in the 17th century when a woman preaching seemed to many people a perfect absurdity. The dog in the lower right peeing on a stern female listener's skirt emphasizes the artist's point of view. The caption poem is given in Dutch and English. The Society of Friends originated in England under George Fox and spread to the Netherlands during the mid 17th century, a period during which Amsterdam gained its lasting reputation for religious tolerance. In this bold image, Heemskert's painting, which is now housed in the Quaker Collection at the Haverford College Library, is expertly translated into print by the exceptional engraver Carel Allard. Today Allard is better known as a map engraver and publisher than a printmaker, but his technical skill and bold style is wonderfully exemplified in this striking image. The Allard family ran an active publishing business in Amsterdam during the latter half of the seventeenth century. Most of their publications consisted of large atlases of maps and town plans by Blaeu, Jansson, and Visscher, but they occasionally issued separately published prints such as this image, which testifies to Carel's skill as an engraver. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, et Graveurs.

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