A Dynasty of Engravers: Van de Passe

The Gunpowder Plotters
author: Crispijn van de Passe the Elder
engraving, circa 1605
National Portrait Gallery, London
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gunpowder_Plot_conspirators.jpg)
no copyright infringement intended

Crispijn van de Passe the Elder (c. 1564 - 1637) had been trained in Antwerp, by that time the center of printmaking world. He became a member of the artists' Guild of Saint Luke, and much of his work were engravings of Marten de Vos paintings. Religious conflicts of the epoch forced the engraver to move firstly to Aachen, then to Cologne and finally to Utrecht, where he worked for the English market primarily. Four of his sons were also notable engravers, as was one of his grandsons. As is the case in other families of engravers, their style is very similar, and hard to tell apart in the absence of a signature or date, or evidence of location (wiki).

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