manfred sellink philips galle - VU-DARE Home

the notion of Gothic versus Italian printing types as exem­
plifying the old and new styles of (book)prinring, see
Vervliet 1968, pp. 56-67. Style and technique of inscrip­
tions on Dutch prints have rarely been subject of study
with the notable exception of Amy Namowitz "Wbrthens
stimulating essay on calligraphic inscriptions on prints in
the circle of Hendrick Goltzius; Namowitz Worthen
1991-92.
17 eene verzameling van 31 door Phil. Galle
gegraveerde portretten, waaraan titel en register ontbrak-
en, terwijl voor in het bandje een voorrede geplaatst was,
gedagteekend 1567, en gegraveerd in een fraai randwerk.
Hierin zegt de Sculptor aan den lezer, dat hij deze
afbeeldingen van geleerden en van mannen, die door den
sectenhaat beroemd zijn geworden, gegraveerd heeft en
deze later hoopt te vermeerderen.";Van Someren 1888-
91, vol. 1, p. 122. The place of publication was not men­
tioned. By analogy with the three later seriesVan Someren
(wrongly) assumed that the booklet must have been pub­
lished in Antwerp. In Dr. Wolff's copy of the Viromm doc-
tomm effigies (1567) 19 portraits had the six-line verses in
the margin, while twelve (proof impressions?) only
showed the caption with the name of the scholar por­
trayed in the lower margin; compare appendix 2A for a
detailed description of the 1567-edition. It seems quite
probable thatVan Someren never saw Galles edition him­
self, but had to rely on notes taken by Frederik Muller.
This might explain the rather brief description by the
often so painstakingly accurate author.
18. The old master prints were auctioned by
F. Prestel in Frankfurt on 26 November 1877,They were
sold en bloc to the Hamburg collector ITebich and were
then again auctioned with the latter s collection at the
(anonymous) sale of Amsler and Ruthardt in Berlin on 23
February 1885. The enormous collection of portraits -
excluding the magnificent holding of Van Dyck s
Iconographie once owned by the Rotterdam collector
Verstolk van Soelen - was not part of these sales, as Prestel
mentions in the introduction to the 1877 auction cata­
logue (p. iv):'Tl se trouve encore entre nos mains le reste
des collections laissées par feu Mr. le docteur Wolff, c'est-
à-dire plus de onze mille portraits de médecins, de physi­
ciens, d'astronomes, alchymists et autres personnages sem­
blables de tous les pays, provenant des collections du
sénateur Rôding de Hambourg, de l'académie Leopoldo-
Caroline, du docteur A. Roy, du Dr. Diamond de Londres,
et en partie de la collection du docteur Sachse" Prestel
Notes Chapter 2
169
continues to describe the zeal with which the collector
continuously tried to enrich his collection and the care
he took in preserving and documenting his treasures, men­
tioning the existence of the 47-volume manuscript cata­
logue. He ends with the words; sl
Pourle moment on espère
pouvoir conserver les portraits tels qu'ils sont par le moyen
d une vente en bloc; mais si cela ne réussit pas, il est prob­
able qu'ils seront mis en vente séparément à une occasion
future " Unfortunately the further fate of the portraits or
their manuscript catalogue is as yet unknown. On Wolff
as a collector, also cp. Lugt 1921-56, vol. 1, pp. 249-250,
no. 1392.
19. These series can be found in the Komnklijke
Bibiiotheek,The Hague (inv. 1701 C8(2)) and the Library
of Congress in Washington (inv. nos. Typ. 530,72.415 and
Lilly AZ 331.616). Most probably comparable sets of these
unsigned engravings are to be found in other collections
as weU, bound anonymously with compilations of por­
traits by Galle or others. It is also possible that some of the
famous biographers of the nineteenth century have seen
a complete copy of the Viromm âociorum effigies of 1567.
Nagler, for instance, refers to "Eine Folge von Bildnissen
berühmter Männer: Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Pirkheirner,
Thomas Morus, Dante, etc., kl. 4."; Nagler 1835-52, vol.
4, p. 564. This combination of portraits, including the
famous reformers, can only refer to the 1567-edition. in
1856 Charles Le Blanc simply seems to echo Nagler's
words; Le Blanc 1854-90, vol. 2, p. 265. Fifty years later
the often more accurate Alfred von Wurzbach mentions
a "Folge von Portraits berühmter Manner. Imagines viro-
rum doctorum: Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Pirkheirner, Th.
Morus, Dante, Douza,Erasmus,Junius etc. 4°.' s
;Wurzbach
1906-1911, vol. 1, p. 567. Here Wurzbach not only adds
three names to Nagler s list - again in a combination which
can only refer to the 1567-volume - but also gives a title,
namely Imagines viromm doctorum. This tide is strangely
enough identical with Galles 1587-compilation of por­
traits.
20. "Haec igitur mihi causa fuit, quamobrem non-
nullorurn in bonis artibus illustrium virorum, qui nostra
aetate vel paulo ante noruerunt, vel adhuc cum multa
ingenij et eruditionis laude vivant, tum mihi notorum, et
quibus cum consuetudo aliqua intercessit, effigies ad
vivurn expresser im, tum eorum quos nondum viderim ex
optimis et certissimis exemplaribus undique conquisitis
depictas in privato cubiculo, ubi artem exerceo meam,
maximi ornamenti nomine collocaverimCited from the