A Catalogue Raisonné of Scientific Instruments from the Louvain School, 1530 to 1600 2503512186

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A CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS FROM THE LOUVAIN SCHOOL, 1530 TO 1600

DE DIVERSIS ARTIBUS

COLLECTION DE TRAVAUX DE L'ACADÉMIE INTERNATIONALE D'HISTOIRE DES SCIENCES

COLLECTION OF STUDIES FROM THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

Direction Editors

EMMANUEL

ROBERT

POULLE

HALLEUX

TOME 65 (N.S. 28)

BREPOLS

A

CATALOG UE RAISONN É OF

SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS FROM THE LOUVAIN SCHOOL,

1530

TO

1600

Koenraad Van Cleempoel

@

BREPOLS

Uitgegeven met steun van de Universitaire Stichting van België © 2002 - Rrepols Puhlishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium

Al! rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. D/2002/0095/9 ISBN 2-503-51218-6

Printed in the E.U. on acid-free paper

To JACQUES

VAN DAMME,

Gentleman Scholar

CONTENTS

PREI'ACE

............................ ............................... .............. ............................... .........................

ACKNO\X'LEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

1.

.............................. .............................. .............................. ....................

. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

THE PRODUCTION OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS IN SIXTEENTH CENTURY LOUVAIN

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

i. Introduction .. .. . .... . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. ... .. .. . .. .. .. . .. . .. .. . .... .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. ... .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. ii. Gemma Frisius .. .. . . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. iii. Gerard Mercator, maker of scientific instruments .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . iv. Astronomical rings . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. v. Tbe italic script in Louvain and Mercator's writing manual of 1540 . .. .. . .. .. . .. vi. Michael Piquer . . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . ... .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. ... .. . ... . . .. .. .. . .. .. . vii. Tbe workshop of Gualterus Arsenius .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . ... .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. ..... . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . viii. Arsenius's early years: 1554-1559, the connection with Gerard Mercator and the Spanish Court . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .... . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. ... .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . ..... .. .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . ix. Arsenius's mature years, 1559-1580, satyrs, ocean gods and rete shapes ....... x. Signatures and the problem of the 'Arsenius brothers' .................................... xi. Adrian Descrolières, an itinerant instrument maker . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. ..... .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . . xii. Adrian Zeelst, an overlooked Louvain master .. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . xiii. Zeelst's early years: 1561 to c.1570 ................................................................. xiv. Zeelst's mature years: c.1570 to c.1600 .......................................................... xv. Tbe scientific court of Ernst of Bavaria . .. .. . .. .. . . .. ... .. .. .. .. .. . . ... . .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . . xvi. Conclusion .. .. .. . ... .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .... . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .... .. . .. . .. .. .. . .. . .. ..... .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . II.

CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ

i. ii. iii. iv. v.

Instruments Instruments Instruments Instruments Instruments

..................................................................................................

by Gerard Mercator ..................................................................... by Michael Piquer .. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . by Gualterus Arsenius .. . .. .. .. . .. . .. .. .. .. ... . .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. . .. . by Adrian Descrolières .. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. ... . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. . .. .. ... .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. by Adrian Zeelst . . .. ... .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . ..... .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . ..

IX

XI

1

5 7 9 11 14 22 27 34

34 39 52 55 57 58

61

65 70 73 75 79 87 184 207

COLOUR PLATES

243

APPENDIX

269

........................................................................................................................

BIBL!OGRAPHY

271

INDEX

281

····························· ····························· ····························· ····························· ·········

VII

PREFACE

This book deals with a clearly-defined corpus of historical scientific works of art, each of technical complexity, most of extraordinary beauty, and many of exceptional historical significance. Until recently, these astronomical instruments had been largely neglected by historians of science, and almost entirely by historians of art. Only now has the historical context of these abjects been established: Mercator, the geographer, appears as a maker of instruments; the brothers Gualterus and Regnerus Arsenius are shown to have but one body and two hands; and the mysterious Descrolières and the elusive Zeelst are identified as the successors of Mercator and Arsenius in Louvain. For the first time their instruments can be surveyed in an appropriate fashion, doing justice to them from each of the scientific, artistic and cultural perspectives. The one persan who was best equipped to do this is Koenraad Van Cleempoel, an art historian turned instruments specialist, who has been trained in Louvain, Madrid, London and Frankfort all four locations with strong connections to the world of Scientific instruments. The field desperately needs competent catalogues of instruments in specific collections, but ultimately of more historical value are catalogues of select groups of instruments, be they from one workshop or from one cultural milieu. Koenraad Van Cleempoel's extensively-illustrated catalogue raisonné provides us with an extremely valuable key to the flourishing school of instrument making in sixteenth-century Louvain, identifying the principal players and exploiting individual instruments for their potential to uncover as much information as possible. Van Cleempoel leads us to a new understanding of the reasons behind the development of the Louvain School and of its achievements. The Louvain instrument makers were the heirs to a specific medieval tradition, and it is our task to identify this. The study of historical scientific instruments is an exciting field, and fascination with these remarkable abjects is highly contagious. Koenraad Van Cleempoel belongs to a small group of highly infected instrument aficionados: his enthusiasm for his subject radiates from every page of this book. 1 can only hope that some of his readers succumb irrevocably to the delight of his subject. Amongst these one might hope to find some candidates to eventually prepare individually catalogues raisonnés of Renaissance Spanish, French, Italian and German instruments. Such enthusiasts will do well to take this work as a model, but they will find its standards hard to match.

David A. King Frankfort am Main

IX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book began in Madrid in the spring of 1995, when the beauty of antique scientific instruments first intrigued me. For historical reasons, not a few Flemish instrument are now preserved in Madrid's museums, and it was there that I first set eyes on a Louvain astrolabe. This fascination soon crystallised at the Warburg Institute in London where I carried out most of the research presented here. The results of my investigation, which by no means exhaust the subject, will, I hope, be of value to historians of scientific instruments, art historians and historians of science alike. Equally, I hope that non-specialists will appreciate the intrinsic beauty of these wonderful objects. I would like to give special thanks to Jacques Van Damme. Perhaps even more than anywhere else, this book gradually grew at his dining table and in his library. Jacques Van Damme's expertise on Flemish instrument makers forms the cornerstone of the present study. My ample use of his personal documentation on the subject is gratefolly acknmvledged. Behind the scenes on several significant occasions he showed a confidence and trust in me far greater than I deserved. He invited me to help him in organising an exhibition of sixteenth-century Louvain instruments in Madrid. This opportunity proved to be a richly rewarding and very enjoyable collaboration. It is with great pleasure that I dedicate this book to him. I also owe particular debts to many other people, including William F. Ryan at the Warburg Institute (London), who supervised my Ph.D. research period there. I most warmly thank David King for inYiting me to corne to Frankfort to study at the History of Science Department at the Wolfgang Goethe Universitat. His extraordinary hospitality and personal kindnesses showed me other benefits of the study of astrolabes. While I was working in Frankfort, I received generous support from the Deutsche Forshunggemeinsc haft. Elly Dekker has always graciously answered my many technical questions. With Giles Hudson from the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford I have had many stimulating discussions and thank him also for his extensive revisions of my manuscript. For photographie advice I was privileged to consult Ian B. Jones, photographer at the Warburg Institute, where his office was a much-visited hawn. The celebrated Spanish architect José Manuel Barbeito helped in making drawings of the rete-patterns of several Louvain astrolabes, some of which are reproduced in this book. For his enthusiasm and artistic skills, I wish to express my sincere thanks. Gerard Turner guided me through the fascinating world of historical scientific instruments. He and his wife Helen read and re-read many earlier drafts of this work and their stimulating comments have provided me with unexpected new insights. For their kind and helpfol interest in my research problems I would also like to thank David Knipp, Robert Goulding, Miguel Morales and Silke Ackermann. I am equally gratefol to Dag Nicholas Hasse and Lucy McGuinnes for their help with Latin XI

ACKNO\VLEDGEMENTS

translations. Other good friends have helped in countless ways. My parents played an important part in the making of this book; my mother nourished it with faith and hope while my father taught me to love historical abjects. My wife Carla has been a wonderful, and patient, companion throughout my research.

Antwerp 14 October 2001

XII

INTRODUCTION

I

This book is intended to serve as an introduction to the landscape of instrument making in Louvain during the last three-quarters of the sixteenth century. During this period makers in Louvain produced Europe's most coveted scientific instruments. The 'Louvain masters' included Gerard Mercator, Michael Piquer, Gualterus Arsenius, Adrian Descrolières and Adrian Zeelst. Not all worked in Louvain for their whole career, but all had their roots there, and at some stage in their lives each one of them matriculated at the University of Louvain. Within the larger discipline of the history of science the study of scientific instruments perse is of relatively recent departure and comparatively little is still known about the history of different instrument making traditions in Europe. Specialists tend to agree however that the instruments made in sixteenth-century Louvain are of exceptional quality, exceeding those of other contemporary European workshops. Robert T. Gunther - the first curator of the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford, and author of a pioneering work on astrolabes puhlished in 1932 - goes as far as to say that the 'craftsmen of Flanders, under the guidance of Gemma Frisius were producing the finest astrolabes in the world' .1 While the astrolabe was the type of instrument for which the Louvain masters were most renowned, it was by no means their only product: they also made a variety of other mathematical instruments, including astronomical rings, armillary spheres, sundials, and surveying instruments. The high reputation of Louvain instruments is due in equal measure to their combination of beauty and precision. The decorative aspects of the instruments took their inspiration from contemporary manuals by Antwerp artists, while their functional parts embodied the most up-to-date knowledge of the time as distilled by contemporary mathematical practitioners. It is this perfect harmony of aesthetics and science that made the Louvain instruments so sought after in the European market.

II To date, little has been written on the subject of instrument making in Louvain. The only previous work to consider the different Louvain instrument makers as a group is an article from 1971 by Antoine de Smet: 'Louvain et la construction des instruments scientifiques au XVIième siècle'. Only seven pages long, it deals with the most important makers ( omitting Michael Piquer and Adrian Zeelst) mostly from a biographical standpoint, making no attempt

1

Gunther, The Astrolabes of the World, 1932, 368. 1

THE PRODUCTION OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS IN SIXTEENTH CENTURY LOUVAIN

to list their known instruments. Against this background, a catalogue raisonné of all the known scientific instruments from the Louvain School, including newly attributed examples and those by makers ignored by de Smet, seems justified. The early phase of instrument making in Louvain, between 1527 and 1554, coincides with the presence of great humanists in the city, such as Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536), Juan Vives (1492-1540), Gemma Frisius (1508-1555) and Gerard Mercator (1512-1594), as well as with important events, such as the foundation of the Collegium Trilingue. We are therefore relatively well informed about the role played by humanism in Louvain at the time in question. The studies of Henry de Vocht within the series Humanistica Lovaniensa, for example, list many documents which are also of interest to the historian of instrument making. 2 The polymath Gemma Frisius in particular, played an important role in the foundation of the Louvain School of instrument makers, and the work devoted to him by Fernand Van Ortroy in 1920 remains an unrivalled source. Van Ortroy's monograph on Gemma Frisius contains a chapter on 'Les Arsenius' which includes a first attempt to catalogue their instruments, although since its publication many new facts about the Arsenius workshop have corne to light. 3 These and other studies, despite their value, leave many important questions unanswered. On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Mercator's death, for example, Le Fonds Mercator published a lavish book on the famous map-maker and his intellectual milieu. It was, however, the early phase of Mercator's activity (1527 to 1554) that received most attention. The neglect of Mercator's later work is a fate shared with other Louvain makers. As the century progresses, the gaps in existing accounts of Louvain instrument making increase, with the second half of the sixteenth century in particular being a relative vacuum as far as our knowledge of the makers is concerned. Yet it is from this period that most of the instruments have survived: here indeed we are confronted with a situation where there are more instruments than documents. In what follows, the evidence of documents notwithstanding, the testimony of instruments will be sought and used to continue the story of the Louvain school into the later sixteenth century.

III The first part of this work introduces the different Louvain makers, the types of instruments they favoured, and their influence on one another. The role of the Spanish Court in Brussels is also considered, since Charles V and Philip II sponsored many scientific developments at the University of Louvain and the court provided important commissions. In later years, when the court was residing at the Escorial, Spanish noblemen still purchased Louvain instruments.

2

History of the Foundation and the Rise of the Co!legium Trilingue Lovaniense, 1953; John Dantiscus and his ,Vetherlandish Friends, 1961.

2

See, for example, Antoine de Smet's 'Gemma Frisius', 1974.

3

INTRODUCTION

The catalogue raisonné itself which follows includes for the first time, as well as signed works, a large group of unsigned instruments which can be attributed to makers of the Louvain School, the intention being to identify the different workshops that existed and bring together the different instruments they produced. The methodolo gy for making attributions to identified makers is usually based on stylistical features, such as the style of engraving and details of constructio n. It is perhaps surprising that up to fifty percent of a maker's œuvre could be unsigned, and although it is still impossible to explain why certain instruments are signed and others are not, the value of examining them and including them in a catalogue such as this needs little justification.

3

1. THE PRODUCT ION OF SCIENTIFI C INSTRUME NTS IN SIXTEENT H-CENTUR Y LOlNAIN

i.

Introduction

The question of how the Louvain school of instrument making began is difficult to answer, but a combination of intellectual and material factors around 1525 must have played a crucial role. The beginning of the sixteenth century saw a migration of students and leamed men from the northern to the southern provinces of the Netherlands. 4 The intellectual climate in the South was more propitious for the study of science thanks to the popularity of the University of Louvain, the only university in the Netherlands, and the possessor of a scientific tradition going back to the late 15th century. This tradition is important: repeateùly the polymath Gemma Frisius has been seen as the sole genius responsible for laying the foundations of the Louvain school of geography and instrument making in the 16th century. While his role is undoubtedly important, it should not be over emphasised, as Antoine de Smet has pointed out, at the expense of the already established tradition of science stemming from the 15th century. De Smet brings forward two useful examples to support the existence of an established scientific tradition in Louvain prior to the arrival of Frisius. In 1487 and 1488, he notes, an ongoing debate took place between Paul Van Middelburg from Zeeland and Petrus de Rivo (or van der Beken) from Asse, about the precise date of Christ's passion and death.5 Essentially theological, the disputations nevertheless presumed a knowledge of mathematics, because of its importance to calendrical calculation and astronomy. Although the discussions did not take place in Louvain, it was there that both men had received their training. 6 The long-term outcome of the debate was that on 16 February 1514, Van Middelburg was invited by Pope Leo X to corne to Rome to preside over the commission appointed to study the Julian calendar and how it could be adjusted, at the Fifth Lateran Council.The second factor that illustrates the strength of the mathematical tradition in Louvain is the presence of several 'mathematici' in the city in the early decades of the sixteenth century. 8 Mathematics as a discipline was studied in the faculty of Arts, and although we know hardly anything about the contents of the course, the writings of the different mathematici are outlined in some detail in chapter 28 of Joannes Molanus Historiae Lovaniensium libri XIV, the first historical account of the University of Louvain published there in the late sixteenth century. 9 In addition to Van Middelburg himself, Molanus mentions a Joannes Nys Driedo, or Driedoens. Driedo graduated magister artium at Louvain on 24 April 1499 and became a doc-

4

Snelders, 'Science in the Low Countries during the Sixteenth Century', 1983; Struik, 'Mathematics in the Netherlands during the first half of the XVIth century', 1936. 5 De Rivo's tract against Van Middelburg, De anno, die etfereia dominicae passionis et resurectionis .. , is discussed in De Jongh, L 'Ancienne faculté de théologie de Louvain, 1911, 83-8 7 . 6 Lefebvre, 'Les Sciences mathématiques et physiques à l'université de Lounin au XVième siècle', 1929, 46; Reusens, Documents relatifs à l'histoire de

l'Université de Louvain, II, 1903, 108, 111-112, 235236, 276-277; De Smet, 'Leuven ais centrum', 1967, 106. 7 North, 'The Western Calendar', 1983, 94-96. 8 De Smet, 'LeuYen ais centrum ,·an de wetenschappelijke kartografische traditie in de Yoormaligc Nederlanden gedurende de eerste helft Yan de 16e eeuw', 1967. Especially chapter 'Mathematici te Lem·en in het eerste derde van de 16de eeuw'. 9 Les Quatorze Livres de la ville de Louvain du docteur et professeur en théologie jean MOLANl/S.

7

THE PRODUCTION OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS IN SIXTEENTH CENTURY LOUVAIN

tor of theology on 17 August 1512. His main vocation was to defend traditional Christian doctrines against the Protestant Reformation, but he also seems to have mastered mathematics and astronomy sufficiently to lead the historian Henry de Vocht to suggest that he taught these disciplines to Gemma Frisius. 10 Another mathematicus, Albertus Pigghius (c. 1490-1542) was certainly a pupil of Driedoens. Pigghius criticised the astrological predictions of the Antwerpbased natural philosopher Jasper de Laet van Borchloon; his most famous work was a reply on behalf of the University of Louvain to Pope Leo X's query conceming a possible reform of the Julian calendar. 11 De Smet lists a number of additional members of the Louvain mathematical tradition, one of whom deserves special attention: Henricus Baers or Vekenstyl, a printer and astronomer active in Louvain in the early sixteenth century. What we know of Vekenstyl cornes from two texts. The first text is included in a book of Guilielmus Lapidanus, Meditationes in septem psalmos poenitentiœ, 1530, printed and edited by Vekenstyl. 12 Towards the end of the book is a short dialogue between Vekenstyl and a character called Mervellius. This faintly absurd dialogue seems designed to serve primarily commercial purposes. From it we learn that Vekenstyl was treasurer of St Peter's church in Louvain, where he was also the first musician; that he constructed organs, armillary spheres, and astrolabes; and that he was a 'bonus prognosta' and the author of prognostica symbola as well as mathematical pamphlets. As yet we have no further evidence of Vekenstyl as an instrument maker. If he was producing instruments in brass in the 1530s it would mean that he preceded Gerard Mercator-currently the earliest Louvain instrument maker for whom metal instruments survive-by almost a decade, the latter starting to make brass instruments some time before 1540 and his earliest known astrolabe datable to after 1545. Louvain's intellectual heritage was accompanied by a material legacy, with the commercial initiatives of at least one Antwerp-based bookseller promoting globe making in Louvain, l3 a situation similar to Nuremberg, where in 1515 Johann Schoner (1477-1547) published a terrestrial globe with an accompanying manual. It was in 1526/7 that Maarten de Keyser (Martinus Caesar) from Antwerp printed Franciscus Monachus's De orbis situ ac descriptione, a description of a lost terrestrial globe manufactured about the same time. 14 The lost globe was made in the Louvain workshop of Gaspar van der Heyden Clatinised as Gaspar Mirica,

10

History of the Foundation, 1953, ml. II, 505-507; John Dantiscus, 1961, 224-225. 11 Adversus prognosticatorum vu/gus, qui annuas praedictiones edunt, et se astrologos mentiuntur, astrologiae defensio, Paris, 1518; De ratione pachalis celebrationis, Paris, 1520. 12 See the introduction to Les Tables astronomiques de Louvain de 1528, 1976, 9. 13

Van der Krogt, 'The First Printed Globes in the Low Countries', in Globi Neerlandici, 1993, 40-48. 14

De orbis situ ac descriptione, ad Reverendiss. D. archiepiscopum Panormitanum, Francisci ll!lonachi

8

ordinis Franciscani, epistola sane quam luculenta. In qua Ptolomaei, caeterorumque superiorum geographorum hallucinationem refellitur aliaque praeterea de recens inventis terris, mari, insulis. De ditione papae. De situ Paradisi et dimensione miliarum ad proportionem graduum coeli, praeclara et memoratu digna recensentur. [At the end:] Excudebat Martinus Caesar, expensis honesti viri Rolandi Bollaert, commorantis Antverpiae iuxta portam Camerae, sub intersignio maioris fa!conis albi. (De Troeyer, Bio-bibliographica franciscana neerlandica, 1970, 177-78, no. 276).

GEMMA FRISIUS

a Myrica or Amyricus, born c. 1496, , Il, § and >