Maria Tesselschade Roemers Visscher (25 March 1594 – 20 June 1649), also called Maria Tesselschade Roemersdochter Visscher (), was a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and glass engraver.

Life

Tesselschade was born 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 ...

, the youngest of three daughters of poet and humanist Roemer Visscher. She was given the name ''Tesselschade'' ("Damage on Tessel"), because her father lost ships near the Dutch island

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...

on Christmas Eve 1593, three months before her birth, to remember that 'worldly wealth could be gone instantly.' Engraved rummer - Sic Soleo Amicos - attributed to Maria Tesselschade Roemers Visscher - Rijksmuseum - BK-NM-10754-50

Engraved rummer - Sic Soleo Amicos - attributed to Maria Tesselschade Roemers Visscher - Rijksmuseum - BK-NM-10754-50

She and her sister,

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

, were the only female members of the

Muiderkring The Muiderkring (Muiden Circle) was the name given to a group of figures in the arts and sciences who regularly met at the Muiderslot, castle of Muiden near Amsterdam during the first half of the 17th century, or the Dutch Golden Age, Golden Age o ...

, the group of

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...

intellectuals who met at

Muiden Muiden () is a city and former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It lies at the mouth of the Vecht (Utrecht), Vecht and is in an area called the Vechtstreek. Since 2016, Muiden has been part of the new municipality ...

Castle. She is often characterised as a

muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

of the group and attracted the admiration of its members, such as its organiser Hooft, Huygens, Barlaeus, Bredero, Heinsius,

Vondel Joost van den Vondel (; 17 November 1587 – 5 February 1679) was a Dutch playwright, poet, literary translator and writer. He is generally regarded as the greatest writer in the Dutch-language literature, Dutch language as well as an important f ...

and

Jacob Cats Jacob Cats (10 November 1577 – 12 September 1660) was a Dutch poet, humorist, jurist and politician. He is most famous for his emblem books. Early years Jacob Cats was born on 10 November 1577 in Brouwershaven. Having lost his mother at ...

. In their correspondence, she is described as attractive, musically talented, and a skilled translator and commentator from French and Italian. They also praised her skill at singing, painting, carving,

glass engraving Engraved glass is a type of decorated glass that involves shallowly engraving the surface of a glass object, either by holding it against a rotating wheel, or manipulating a "diamond point" in the style of an engraving burin. It is a subgroup of ...

and

tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

work. The

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museumplein, Museum Square in the stadsdeel, borough of Amsterdam-Zuid, Amsterdam South, ...

has an example of her engraving work, a

römer The Römer (German surname, "Roman") is a medieval building in the Altstadt of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and one of the city's most important landmarks. The Römer is located opposite the Old St. Nicholas Church and has been the city hall ( ...

drinking glass engraved with the motto ''Sic Soleo Amicos'' ("this is how I treat my friends"). In 1623, she married a ship's officer, Allard Crombalch. After he died in 1634, Huygens and Barlaeus proposed marriage to her, offers which she rejected.

Legacy

In remembrance of Tesselschade there are several streets named after her, such as ''Tesselschadestraat'' and ''Tesselschadelaan'' in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

and

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

References

External links

Maria Tesselschade Visscher
- digital version of all her poems
Visscher, Tesselschade Roemersdr.
''Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland'' (in Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Visscher, Maria Tesselschade 1594 births 1649 deaths 16th-century Dutch women 17th-century Dutch poets 17th-century Dutch women writers 17th-century Dutch writers Dutch women poets Engravers from Amsterdam Muiderkring Writers from Amsterdam Dutch Golden Age writers Burials at the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam Glass engravers Dutch women engravers 17th-century Dutch engravers 17th-century Dutch women artists Italian–Dutch translators Dutch glass artists

Life

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links