Willem Hondius or Willem Hondt (c. 1598 in
The Hague – 1652 or 1658 in
Danzig (Gdańsk)) was a
Dutch engraver, cartographer and painter who spent most of his life in
Poland.
Life
Willem Hondius was one of seven children of
Hendrik Hondius the Elder (1573 – c. 1649) and Sara Jansdochter. His father was one of the most important Dutch reproductive printmakers and publishers in the early 17th century. A connection with the
Hondius family of cartographers in
Amsterdam is possible but has not been established.
In 1636 Willem visited Danzig in
Poland.
In 1641 he moved there from The Hague for good.
Hondius was supported at the
royal court of King
Władysław IV Waza. The King awarded him the title of ''Chalcographus privilegialus'' (privileged engraver) and ''Chalcographus Regius'' (Royal engraver).
He was married twice, first in 1632 in The Hague to Kornelia van den Enden, secondly in 1646 in Danzig to Anna Mackensen, daughter of the Royal Goldsmith.
In August 1651, in the wake of the
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising,; in Ukraine known as Khmelʹnychchyna or uk, повстання Богдана Хмельницького; lt, Chmelnickio sukilimas; Belarusian language, Belarusian: Паўстанне Багдана Хмяльніц ...
, Hondius joined the army of
Janusz Radziwiłł conquering
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
.
The first ever portrait of the famous
Cossack
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
leader
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynovii Mykhailovych Khmelnytskyi ( Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern ua, Богдан Зиновій Михайлович Хмельницький; 6 August 1657) was a Ukrainian military commander and ...
was engraved during this campaign.
Nothing is known of Hondius after 1652, though he may have lived until 1658.
References
External links
1590s births
1650s deaths
Dutch engravers
Dutch Golden Age painters
Dutch male painters
Artists from The Hague
17th-century Dutch cartographers
17th-century cartographers
People from Royal Prussia
{{Netherlands-artist-stub