Johannes or Jan Luyken (16 April 1649 – 5 April 1712) was a Dutch poet, illustrator, and engraver.Kort verhaal Van het godvruchtig leven En zalig afsterven Van Joannes Luiken (Short story of the religious life and peaceful death of Joannes Luiken)
in the DBNL

Biography

Lusthof des Gemoeds - Jan Philipsz Schabaalje 1714

He was born and died in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, where he learned engraving from his father Kaspar Luyken. He was a

child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...

. Luyken married at 19 and had several children, including renowned engraver Caspar Luyken. At age 26 Luyken converted to the

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

church, which inspired him to write moralistic poetry.

Works

Luyken illustrated the 1685 edition of the '' Martyrs Mirror'' with 104 copper

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

s. Thirty of these plates survive and were part of ''The Mirror of the Martyrs'' exhibit. He also published ''Het Menselyk Bedryf'' ("The Book of Trades") in 1694, which contains numerous engravings of 17th-century trades by Luiken and his son Caspar (Caspaares).

Cultural references

Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel (1884, pub ...

' anti-hero Des Esseintes in ''

À rebours (; translated ''Against Nature'' or ''Against the Grain'') is an 1884 novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans. The narrative centers on a single character: Jean des Esseintes, an eccentric, reclusive, ailing aesthete. The last scion o ...

'' was an admirer of Luyken's engravings and had prints from his ''Religious Persecutions'' hung in his boudoir. He described them as "a collection of appalling plates displaying all the tortures which religious fanaticism has invented." Des Esseintes was enthralled not just by Luyken's graphic depictions but his ability to reconstruct times and places in his works.

Gallery

File:Jesus the teacher. Jan Luyken etching. Bowyer Bible.gif, ''Jesus the Teacher'' File:Jan Luyken's Jesus 27. Caiaphas. Phillip Medhurst Collection.jpg, ''

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD) was the High Priest of Israel during the first century. In the New Testament, the Gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John indicate he was an organizer of ...

'' File:Zware mishandeling van christenslaven door de Turken, Jan Luyken, 1684.jpg, ''Serious mistreatment of Christian slaves by the Turks'' File:Turk en geestelijke met christenslaven, Jan Luyken, 1684.jpg, ''Turk and clergyman with Christian slaves'' (1684) File:Cruelty shah Safi, Jan Luyken- Sahand Ace.jpg, ''The Cruelty of Shah Safi'' (1697) File:Anne Boleyn's Execution by Jan Luyken.jpg, ''Anne Boleyn's Execution'' File:Alexander Farnese trout met Maria princesse van Portugal (Jan Luyken, 1720) (cropped).png, '' Alexander Farnese marries Maria Princess of Portugal'' (1720)

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luyken, Jan 1649 births 1712 deaths 17th-century Dutch poets Dutch male poets Dutch illustrators 17th-century Dutch engravers 18th-century Dutch engravers Engravers from Amsterdam Writers from Amsterdam Dutch Golden Age printmakers Dutch Mennonites Mennonite artists Mennonite poets