Hans Vredeman De Vries And The Artes Mechanicae Revisited (Architectura Moderna) 2503518133, 9782503518138

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HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AND THE

ARTES MECHANICAE REVISITED

ARCHITECTURA MODERNA Architectural Exchanges in Europe, 16th - 17th Centuries

Vol.3

Series Editors: Krista De Jonge (Leuven) Pi et Lombaerde (Antwerp)

Advisory Board: Howard Burns (Venice) Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann (Princeton) Jean Guillaume (Paris) Konrad Ottenheym (Utrecht) Ulrich Schütte (Marburg)

HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AND THE ÀRTES MECHANICAE REVISITED

Edited by

Piet Lombaerde

@

BREPOLS

Cover illustrations: Above left: Portrait of Hans Vredeman de Vries by Hendrick Hondius, c. 1610. Right:A bridge with a perspective view on a megastructure to allow the application of'oorgaten', and a caisson to construct a bridge pillar (From: H.Vredeman de Vries, Architectura,Antwerp: Geerhardt de Jode, 1577, f' 4)

© 2005 Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium.

All rights reserved. No part of this book 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/2005/0095/97 ISBN 2-503-51813-3 Printed in the E.U. on acid-free paper

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

page

VII IX

Preface

Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann Introduction Piet Lombaerde, editor

1

Hans Vredeman de Vries and the Conditions of Artistic Profession in Sixteenth-Century Antwerp Reiner Borggrefe

7

The Relation to Practice in the Publications of Hans Vredeman de Vries Petra Sophia Zimmermann

15

Theory and Example in Vredeman de Vries's Architectura (1577). Intentions between a Modern Treatise and a Practical Model Book Dieter A. Nuytten

33

Architectural and Technical Examples: between Antique Modernity and Gothie Tradition Dieter A. Nuytten

57

Cutting and Pasting Fortifications. Vredeman de Vries and the Plans for the Insertion of the partially dismantled Citadel of Antwerp Charles van den Heuvel

83

Hydraulic Projects by Hans Vredeman de Vries and their related Construction Problems Piet Lombaerde

101

The Influence of Hans V redeman de V ries on the Cityscape constructed like a Picture Barbara Uppenkamp

117

The Virtual City of Hans Vredeman de Vries digitally analysed Bart Mermans

129

Interiors, Chimneypieces and Portais Krista De ]ange

139

Perspectives in Wood. Hans Vredeman de Vries and the Designs for Intarsia and Civil Furniture Ria Fabri

153

V

CONTENTS

Vredeman de Vries and Tapestry Design Cecilia Paredes

169

Hans Vredeman de Vries and Scientific Apparatus Koenraad van Cleempoel

187

Placing Rederijkerskunst in Antwerp Christopher P Heuer

197

List of Illustrations

215

Bibliography

225

Abbreviations

247

Index

249

Contributors

257

VI

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In 2002-03 numerous exhibitions and congresses were dedicated to the artist as well as to the oeuvre of Hans Vredeman de Vries. Never before so much attention has been given by so many scholars and researchers in such short period of time to this artist-architect of the Low Countries. First of all the magnificent exhibition 'Hans Vredeman de Vries und die Renaissance im Norden' took place in the Weserrenaissance-Museum SchloB Brake from 26 May till 25 August 2002. After that the exhibition moved to the Konink:lijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen (Royal Museum of Fine Arts,Antwerp), from 15 September till 8 December 2002. In consequence ofthis exhibition the International Conference 'Hans V redeman de V ries and the Technical/ Applied Arts' was organised by the Higher Institute of Architectural Sciences Henry van de Velde (University Association Antwerp) on 29 November 2002. One year later the International Conference 'Netherlandish Artists in Gdansk in the Time of Hans Vredeman de Vries' was organised by the Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Gdarîska and the Weserrenaisance-Museum SchloB Brake on 20 and 21 Novernber 2003, and following this the International Conference 'Hans Vredeman de Vries and his Influence' was organised from 30 January till 1 February 2004, which took place at the Weserrenaissance-Museum SchloB Brake in Lemgo. What stands out during these events is the tremendous broad domain in which the artist was concerned. And of particular interest is the fact that V redeman de V ries was not really perceived as an 'engineer'. Discussion about his technical projects and realizations, his theories and even innovations, was limited to a strict minimum. Therefore it was necessary to dedicate some more attention to the technical and applied arts in a separate work, apart from the scholarly studies that were already mentioned above. This subject also being presented for the series Architectura Maderna is a nice extra. After all Vredeman de Vries visited numerous cities and places in the N etherlands as well as in Germany, Po land and Bohemia between 1550 and 1610, and in these places he was involved in several projects, most of all technical in nature. On publication of this work, on which no less than thirteen highly qualified historians of art and architecture history from North America, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have cooperated, it is a true pleasure to thank a number of people. First of all we are grateful to all co-authors for their voluntary effort to bring this project to a good ending and to bring many of their unpublished research results, which are also often new, into the open. In particular we thank professor Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, who was willing to write a very inspiring preface to this publication and this with a lot of enthusiasm. He was also the most favourite senior scholar for this, because he knows better than anybody else the period and its customs in which Vredeman de Vries was active. Moreover, he situates his field of research over a geographically wide spread region in Central and West Europe, that for the most part was also the region in which Vredeman de Vries was active during his life. Our special thanks also go to Dr. Paul Huvenne, chief curator of the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, who very enthusiastically provided the auditory of the Royal Museum for the International Colloquium 'HansVredeman de Vries and theTechnical/ AppliedArts', which can be seen as the starting point for the composition of this publication. Prof. msc. Richard Foqué, dean of the College of Design Sciences of Antwerp, was really friendly to co-organize this colloquium and to receive the guests in a very hospitable manner, for which we are truly grateful.

VII

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

More thanks go to chieflibrarian Ann Renard for providing the first edition of the Architectura (1577) of Hans Vredeman de Vries for this publication. Our sincere thanks also go to Inge Schoups, archivist of the City Archives of Antwerp, for her benevolent cooperation in providing records concerning HansVredeman deVries.We are also grateful to Dr. Christopher Heuer,John Newman,member of the Advisory Board for the series 'Architectura Maderna', and to Dr. Ria Fabri for their interesting remarks and for their help concerning the redaction of the texts for this publication.Again Brepols Publishers has taken the responsibility for the publishing of this work, the third in the series 'Architectura Maderna', and has clone a magnificent job in bringing this work to life.

VIII

PREFACE HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AS "RENAISSANCE MAN" By Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann

Hans Vredeman de Vries, uomo universale? So has he been considered by some recent scholarship, including several authors whose essays are contained in the present collection. 1 To judge from the range ofVredeman's activities and interests discussed in this book, this description might well seemjustified. These papers offer various glimpses of Vredeman's contributions to fields as diverse as hydraulics, fortifications, gardens, chimney and furniture design, architectural theory, practice, and rhetoric. Yet while the comparison to other Renaissance men2 , in varied senses of the term, may be illuminating, it does not indicate why Vredeman's work was so varied, nor what is singular about him. How does a model provided by such figures as Leon Battista Alberti or Leonardo da Vinci, who are often taken into account as model "universal men," fit Vredeman de Vries? 3 This brief paper attempts to sketch in outline an answer to these questions by setting some of the multiple aspects of the life and work of Hans V redeman de Vries into contemporary context. In the range and variety of his occupations V redeman was far from unique. Paragons such as Leonardo and Michelangelo, who were painters, sculptors, and architects, may well set the framework for comparison. But involvement in these activities, identifiable with Giorgio Vasari's arts of disegno~ constitutes only one sicle of the sort of endeavors in which an artist of the Renaissance might have been engaged. Even painting did not necessarily mean frescos or altarpieces: many Renaissance artists painted brocades, banners, canopies, signs, and even candles, as well as carrying out many other seemingly humble tasks. 4 Leonardo himself placed painting, sculpture, and architecture in tenth place when he presented his skills, largely mechanical and military, in a famed letter he drafted to the duke of Milan. 5 Leonardo's emphasis on fortifications and military matters suggests what many artists and architects were actually called on to perform in many places, where their technical skills were prized and utilized.6 In these regards as in others,Vredeman's activities inAntwerp, Gdansk, andWolfenbüttel can be compared with those of many other itinerant Italians and Netherlanders of his time.

1

See P.S. Zimmermann, 'Hans Vredeman de Vries - ein "uomo universale"?', KNOB Bulletin, 100, 1, (2001), pp. 213; Ch. Heuer, 'Between the Histories of Art and Architecture: Critical Reception of Hans Vredeman de Vries', ibid., pp. 27-40, and also P Lombaerde, 'Hydraulic Projects by Hans Vredeman de Vries and their related Construction Problems', within, p. 101, n. 1. See fürther: PLombaerde and C. van den Heuvel,'Hans Vredeman de Vries und die technischen Künste' ,in:H.Borggrefe et al.(eds.),Hans Vredeman de Vries und die Renaissance im Norden (Munich,2002),p. 117, and also I. Muchka, 'Hans Vredman de Vries und die bohmische Architektur', in: Ibid., pp.107-11. 2 For more recent considerations of this topos, which can be traced back to Burckhardt, see E. Garin (ed.), Renaissance Characters,, (trans. L.G. Cochrane), (Chicago and London: 1991), and A. Ember, Renaissance Man, (trans. R. E. Allen), (London and Boston, 1978).

3

For varied aspects of Alberti, see recently A. Grafton, Leon Battista Alberti. Mas ter Builder of the Italian Renaissance, (New York, 2000); for Leonardo, see M. Kemp, Leonardo da Vinci: the Marvellous !Vorks of Nature and Man, ( London and Cambridge, Mass., 1981). 4 Sorne general sense of this point is suggested by the information accumulated in M.Wackernagel, The World of the Florentine RenaissanceArtist. Projects and Patrons, Workshop andArt Market, (trans.A. Luchs), (Princeton, 1981), pp. 138 fI., pasSlffi.

5

The Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci, (compiled and ed. by J.P. Richter), (London - New York, 1970, yd ed.), vol. 2, pp.325-7, no. 1340. 6 See for example Th. DaCosta Kaufmann, Court, Cloister and City. The Art and Culture of Central Europe 1450-1800, (Chicago and London, 1995), pp. 31ff.

IX

PREFACE

Moreover, as Piet Lombaerde points out in his introduction, in earlier times theoretically there was no strict division drawn between the fine and applied arts, between the mechanical and the artificial. Nevertheless, problems appear to persist in considerations ofVredeman, between theory and practice, and between written and visual art. Hence while several of the authors here argue for the theoretical dimension ofVredeman's publications, his largely illustrative books are still seen as directed mainly toward a practical audience composed of artisans, as exemplified by wood-workers and masons. Like that between fine and applied arts, such distinctions seem increasingly suspect. As can be gleaned from the literature on Vredeman, several Netherlandish painters penned art or architectural treatises, Pieter Coecke van Alost and Karel Van Mander perhaps most familiar among them. In this they echoed the likes of G. P. Lomazzo in Italy. The distinction between painters and poets also does not hold so well: mu ch as cinquecento painters such as Bronzino and Giuseppe Arcimboldo were poets, 7 so were some ofVredeman's doser contemporaries such as Joris Hoefnagel 8 (who like Vredeman also served Emperor Rudolf II), and more important, Lucas d'Heere, the author of the first N etherlandish sonnets. The line between the artisanal and artistic also does not seem so clear. Pamela H. Smith has recently argued against the distinction that is conventionally drawn between the theoretical knowledge of scholars or scientists and practical craft knowledge. Concentrating on Europe north of the Alps, she discerns an artisanal epistemology that she finds expressed by such figures as Albrecht Dürer, Bernard Palissy, and Paracelsus in the sixteenth century (and Dutch artists in the seventeenth). 9 The particular reception that figures such as these gave to Vitruvius is also worth noting in comparison with Vredeman de Vries. For the tradition linking mechanics with architecture in the wake ofVitruvius was widespread. For example, Salomon de Caus, who was active in Heidelberg, England, and Brussels, wrote a commentary on Vitruvius, designed grottoes, fountains, and gardens, and published illustrated compendia of automata. 10 The much traveled Heinrich Schickhardt, Baumeister for the Württemberg court, designed fortresses, mills, bridges, canals, gardens, ponds, and pumps, and, also - like Vredeman - left a large corpus of drawings. 11 Finally, it is useful to compare Vredeman de Vries to some other figures who appeared in the same milieu, the imperial court, where Vredeman also worked: Jacopo Strada, and Arcimboldo. The imperial antiquarian Jacopo Strada is known for his scholarship, his involvement with collecting, and his manuscript compilations, but he also helped design tournaments, and was probably involved in laying out gardens. He also drew practical, and mechanical lessons from Vitruvius, "publishing" manuscripts with various machines and pumps. 12 While Arcimboldo is famous for his pictures of fantastic heads, he can also be considered the Habsburgs' Leonardo. Many ofhis activities at court resemble those

7

D. Parker, Bronzino. Renaissance Painter as Poet, (Cambridge 2000); two poems by Arcimboldo were discovered by Giacomo Berra, and are most recently identified and discussed in Th. DaCosta Kaufmann, 'The Artificial and the Natural: Arcimboldo and the Origins of Still Life', in: W Newman and B. Bensaudé (eds.), The Artificial and the Natural, (Cambridge: forthcoming). 8 For Hoefnagel's poetry see Th. DaCosta Kaufmann, The Mastery of Nature. Aspects ofArt, Science and Humanism in the Renaissance, (Princeton, 1993), pp. 9ff. 9 P.H. Smith, The Body of the Artisan. Art and Experience in the Scientific Revolution, (Chicago and London, 2004). lO For views of De Caus's Vitruvianism see F.Yates, The Rosi-

X

crucian Enlightenment, (London, 1972), p. 11, and P. Lombaerde, 'Pietro Sardi, Georg Müller, Salomon de Caus und die Wasserkünste des Coudenberg-Gartens in Brüssel', Gartenkunst 3, 1991, pp. 15 9-71. 11 See E. Kluckert, Heinrich Schickhardt. Architekt und Ingenieur. Eine Monographie, (Herrenberg, 1992), and: S. Lorenz andW Setzler, Heinrich Schickhardt. Baumeister der Reniassance. Leben und Werk des Architekten, Ingenieurs und Stddteplaners, (Leinfelden-Echterdingen, 1999). 12 See L'albumjiorentino dei "DisegniArificiali"raccolti da Jacopo e Ottavio Strada, edited byV. Marchis and L. Dolza, with intro. essays by Th. Da Costa Kaufmann and D. J. Jansen, (Rome, 2002).

PREFACE

of Vredeman, including designing tournaments and processions, and managing rivers. He also was regarded as an expert on natural history, and made numerous nature studies. 13 Where then does Vredeman's singularity lie? Although he came to terms with the Vitruvian tradition, Vredeman was not really a humanist, like Alberti. There is certainly no evidence that he was an antiquarian like Strada, nor like Abraham Ortelius and other contemporaries in the Low Countries.14 He was not a natural historian, like Leonardo, not even to the extent that Arcimboldo was. While, like Strada andArcimboldo,Vredeman strove for court employment, when he failed to obtain a position that sustained him for more than a couple of years, he moved on. Instead, Vredeman responded to other possibilities, including the market, and to publishing opportunities that were not so available, or needed, by them. A Renaissance man, yes, but one whose career, publications, and books were very much shaped by the practices and possibilities of the places where he lived, particularly in the Low Countries.

13

See Th. DaCosta Kaufinann, 'Giuseppe Arcimboldo, the Habsburgs' Leonardo', in L. Koneeny, B. Bukovinska and I. Muchka (eds.), Rudolf II, Prague and the World, (Prague, 1999), pp. 169-76.This is a theme of ongoing work by the author.

14

See now T. Meganck, Erudite Eyes: the Circle of Abraham Ortelius, (Ph. D. diss., Princeton University), 2003.

XI

A bridge with a persp ective view on a m egastructure to allow the application of'oorgaten', and a caisson to construct a bridge pillar (From: H.Vredeman de Vries, Architectura,Antwerp: Geerhardt de Jode, 1577, f" 4)

INTRODUCT ION HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AND THE ÀRTES MECHANICAE REVISITED

Piet Lombaerde

In this publication, attention is devoted to the technical aspects in the work ofHansVredeman de Vries. T hey are considered not so much as discrete characteristics, but rather as a particular way in which this late sixteenth-century artist from the Low Countries typically dealt with a number of disciplines of the arts, mainly applied but also technical arts. From a predorninantly traditional approach to his work, too much emphasis has until now been placed on his highly personal contribution to the dissernination of ornamental elements such as scroll and band work, cartou ches and grotesques, w h ereby typical Renaissance characteristics, such as technical innovation and engineering, are relegated to the background. 1 Since the nineteenth century, this attitude h as led to the definition of the so-called 'Vredeman-de-Vries style', in which the ornament was the central element or the recurrent theme throughout his prolific production of pictures, paintings, drawings, furniture, architecture, fortifications etc. Throughout his long career Vredeman engaged in various crafts and arts. He is believed to have received a glass painter ('glas- schrijver') train - 1. Portret ofHansVredeman de Vri es hy Hendrick Hondius, c.1 610. ing already at a young age.2 He would later have (From: H. Hondius, Pictorum Aliquot Celebrium Praecipuae Germaniae p erfected his skills as a carpenter, painter, architect, Inferiores Effigies, T h e Hague : Henricus Hondius, 1610) fortification engineer and hydraulic engineer. 3 He also applied the linear p erspective in many of his drawings and p aintings, and published works on p erspective and the orders of columns (see Fig.1) . H e was th us active both in the design-oriented and theoretical field. Because of this versatility some authors

1 See, in this connection, above ail the excellent article: Ch. Heuer, 'Between the Histories ofArt and Architecture: Critical Reception of HansV redeman de Vries', KNOB Bulletin, 100, 1, (2001), pp.27- 40. 2 K. van Mander, H et Schilderboeck, (Amsterdam 1618), f' 1824.

3Visual artists were responsible for designing ail kinds ofworks, including buildings, fortifications, furniture and the like. They are to be distinguished from practising artists who belonged to specific crafts. See, in this connection: H . Borggrefe, 'Hans Vredeman deVries (1526- 1609)',in: H .Borggrefe,Th. Fusenig and B. Uppenkamp (eds.),Hans Vredeman de Vries und die R enaissance im Norden, (Munich, 2002), pp.15-38.

1

INTRODUCTION

classify this artist under the category of uomo univers ale. 4 However, a comparison with an artist like Leonardo da Vinci only holds to a limited extent. 5 During V redeman's lifetime, attempts began to be made to clearly define the arts and the sciences. Defining the demarcation criteria of the sciences would continue to gain in importance especially at the beginning of the seventeenth century. In this context, reference was made not only to Antiquity, but also to medieval writings, comments and debates. Definitions of fine arts, applied arts, liberal and non-liberal arts and mechanical arts were the order of the day. This subdivision was anything but evident and gave rise to some confusion of tongues and ideas, as is illustrated by the fact that Mathematica and Mechanica were often regarded as synonymous especially at the end of the Middle Ages. 6 The 'non-liberal arts' are described as practical arts, sometimes as Artes serviles. Based on a comparative study, Gerhard Eis proposes a classification, in which architecture, textile, technical recipes and the like are classed among handwork (opificium), fortification among military matters (armatura), and drama among the court arts (theatrica). 7 Also the difference between Artes and Scientiae was not always clear and would trigger many debates until well into the seventeenth century. 8 An interesting and older theory is the one put forward by Hugh of St Victor, which holds that the Artes Mechanicae are related to the concept of necessitas.They ail satisfy a certain need:'propter necessitatem inventa est mechanica'. 9 Moreover, he daims that they can be considered as 'invention'. This characteristic, too, is important because it is typical for the activity of an engineer, who, from the Renaissance onwards, has increasingly been praised for his innovative ability. Functionality and innovation go hand in hand as they unite theory and practice, art and science. The fact that the division of arts into Artes Liberales and Artes Mechanicae did not become any clearer during the second half of the sixteenth century, is also apparent from a renewed interest in the relevant debate. In Antwerp, in the years 1560-65, we see a highly individual classification of the seven Artes Liberales on the façade of the newly built artist house of Frans Floris (see Fig. 2) .10 Here, the classical division into Trivium and Quadrivium was replaced by Architectura, Labor, Experiencia and Industria, as well as Dilligentia, Usus and Poesis. A scene ab ove the gate dcpicts the Pictura and the Sculptura. 11 The third woman, seated on a ball and adorned with attributes of the Geometria, may either represent the Architectura or personify the Artes Liberales in general. 12 The iconographie programme on the façade ofFloris's house is basically a free fusion of arts that are related both to the liberal and the fine arts.Also in one of his paintings, The Awakening of the Arts, Frans Floris had actually linked the Architectura, Pictura and Sculptura to the Artes Liberales .13 This linking of the Architectura - which already in the Middle

4 See, for

exarnple, P Zimmermann, 'Hans Vredeman de Vries - ein "uomo universale"?, KNOB Bulletin, 100, 1, (2001), pp.2-13; 5 See also Thomas Da Costa Kaufinann in his preface to this publication. 6 P Sternagel, Die Artes Mechanicae in Mittelalter. Begriffs- und Bedeutungsgebrauch bis zum Ende des 13.]ahrhunderts, (Münchener Historische Studien), (Kallmünz, 1966), pp.37-47. 7 Eis bases himself mainly on the division of the Artes Mechanicae according to Hugh of St Victor. See: G. Eis, 'Die sieben Eigenkünste und ihre altdeutschen Literaturdenkmaler', Forschungen und Fortschritte, 26, (1950), pp.269-71. 8 R.Jansen-Sieben (ed.), Artes Mechanicae en Europe médiévale! in middeleeuws Europa, (Brussels, 1989). 9 Ch. H. Buttimer (ed.), Hugh ef St Victor, Didascalicon, (Washington, 1939), p.130.

2

lO Cfr. C.Van de Velde, Frans Floris 1519120 - 1570, leven en werken,2 vols., (Brussels, 1975), vol.1,pp.307-09.The original drawing can be found in: Brussels, Royal Library,Afdeling Handschriften, B.R. 7921 (5239): D. Papebrochius, Annales Antverpienses, vol. 6, (1566-1584), f" 40v-41 v 0 • The description of the façade is given on f" 42r 0 • 11 C. King, 'Artes Liberales and the mural decoration on the house of Frans Floris,Antwerp, c. 1565 ', Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, 52, 2, (1989), pp.239-56. 12 For a discussion on the identification of the third figure, see: C. Van de Velde, 'The painted decoration of Floris's house', in: G. Cavalli - Bjokman (ed.), Netherlandish Mannerism: Papers given at a symposium in the National Museum Stockholm 1984, (Stockholm, 1985), pp.127-34. 13 C. King, I.e., (1989), p.252.

INTRODUCTION

2.Jan van Croes, drawing of the façade of the ho use of the Antwerp painter Frans Floris, c.1700. (Brussels, Royal Library, Manuscripts, D. Papcbrochius, Annales Antverpenses, c.1700)

Ages belonged to the Artes Mechanicae - to the Artes Liberales, indicates the conscious relationship which the artist sought to establish between the applied, fine and liberal arts. 14 He thus presented his personal view on his own professional activity, first of ail as a painter. He considers architecture to be the link between fine and liberal arts, allowing the status of the fine arts to be elevated to that of the liberal arts. Vredeman would take this one step further and raise the Architectura together with ail its technical acquisitions to the level of both the Artes and the Scientiae. Time and again, Architectura was regarded as a link between the various arts and sciences. The fact that also the Artes Mechanicae increasingly appear in these enumerations from the end of the sixteenth century onwards, has certainly to do with the renewed interest in technical arts and their characteristics.Various publications of earlier works or manuscripts, both from classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, have generated interest in these new focal points. In 1599, Satyricon: in quo, De nuptius Philologiae & Mercurii libri duo, & de septem artibus liberalibus libri singulans by Martianus Capella from Leiden was published by Plantin. It is an ailegorical work from the Middle Ages that was commented in the ninth century by Johannes Scottus Eriugena and in which the Artes Liberales {trivium and

14

P Sternagel, o.c., 1966, p.20.

3

INTRODUCTION

3. Joseph Furttenbach: the Mechanica as the highest art, dominating the arts and sciences on a multi-stage construction. (From:J. Furttenbach, Mechanische ReijJ Laden,Augsburg, 1644)

quadrivium) are for the first time discussed alongside the Artes Mechanicae. 15 It lists the seven liberal arts, but the Artes Mechanicae or 'non-liberal' arts are not specified. It is, however, pointed out that the Artes Liberales belong to the soul of man. The Artes Mechanicae, by contrast, are conceived by man himself and are at the service of man. That is why they are 'non-liberal arts'. They are also seven in number, but unfortunately they are defined neither by Capella nor by Eriugena. From the twelfth century onwards, they are described within scholasticism by Hugh of St Victor, Dominicus Gundissalinus, Robert Kilwardby and others, but they are also systematically reinterpreted and redefined. 16 Attempts are even made to establish some kind of hierarchy. Especially the tcchnical and applied arts, together with some fine arts, such as architecture, are classed among the Artes Mechanicae. One of the most telling illustrations is provided much later by Joseph Furttenbach in his Mechanische ReijJ Laden (see Fig. 3). 17 Fourteen allegorical figures represent the arts and sciences. They stand on a multi-stage construction. At the top is the Mechanica, followed on the left sicle by the Arithmetica, the Geometria, the Planimetria, the Geographia, the Astronomia, the Navigatio and the Prospectiva. On the right sicle are a number of applications of these sciences: the Grottenwerck, the Wasserlaitung, the Feuerwercks, the Büchsenmeisterei, the Architectura Militaris, the Architectura Civilis and finally the Architectura Navalis. The sciences on the left sicle, ail represented by female figures, are mainly related to mathematics. The primarily practice-oriented arts, represented by masculine figures , appear on the right. The Mechanica unites practice and mathematical knowledge. 18 It is regarded by Furttenbach as the highest art. This exploration of a conceptual relationship between art and science, and the belief that mechanics and therefore also the sciences based on mathematics play a key role in this respect, is a view

15

Martianus Capella, De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii, (Leipzig, 1925), p.79. See also: E. Cora Lutz (ed.), Commentarum in Martianum Capel/am, (Leiden., 1962- 65); E.Whimey, Para dise R estored: the mechanical arts from antiquity through the thirteenth century, (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,Vol.80, 1), (Philadelphia, 1990).

4

l6 17

E.Whitney, o.c., 1990, p.119.

J. Furttenbach, Mechanische Reifl Laden, (Augsburg, 1644).

18 H . Neumann,' Architectura

Militaris', in: U. Schlitte (ed.), Architekt und Ingenieur. Baumeister in Krieg und Frieden, (Wolfenbüttel, 1984), pp.281-404.

INTRODUCTION

that became increasingly popular at the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century. Thus, the title page ofHendrick Hondius's Theatrum Honoris,Amsterdam 1618, depicts two female bodies as allegorical representations of the Pictura and the Optica. Their attributes are respectively the painter's pallet with brushes, and a square with cornpass as well as other rneasuring instruments. They refer to the symbiosis of science and the arts, and to the harmonious coexistence ofliberal and nonliberal arts. 19 However, besicles professionalizing, the specific crafts of the architectural world from the middle of the sixteenth century in the Low Countries has also resulted in defining the independent position of the architect and later also of the engineer. 20 The sep ara te positioning of architecture, sculpture and painting as fine arts would contribute to this.This aspiration for autonomy was also assisted by the conviction that technical applications based on mathematics and mechanics, could be elevated to the level of arts. The definition of the status of the architect and the engineer on the one hand, and linking this to the promotion of building practice (bath for civil and military architecture) to the arts on the other hand, have led to the above-mentioned rearrangement of mechanical and liberal arts. Although Vredeman does not enter into this discussion in his writings, it is nevertheless striking that he does not make a strict separation between fine and applied arts and bctween theory and practice. It was the intention ofVredeman to aim at an equilibrium between the sciences and the arts, as can be found also in the opinions of Furttenbach (see above). The hierarchy rather consists in letting one of the sciences prevail over the other and over the applications and practice. With Hans Vredeman de Vries this is mainly the Perspective, with Joseph Furttenbach the Mechanica and with Simon Stevin the Mathematica. In this publication two introductory contributions by Heiner Borggrefe and Petra Sophia Zimmermann will focus on the versatility ofhis professional involvement, his relations with the craftsmen and artisans and his interest in practical problems and issues are examined. Two contributions by Dieter N uytten then concentrate on architecture. The first one theoretically deals with the book Architectura, published in 1557 by Hans Vredeman de Vries. On the one hand attention is given to the explicitly structural stratification, and on the other hand to an intentional practical orientation. Therefore the book is clearly not in line with the then current column books. The target group of this book is clearly the world of architecture and the concrete building craft is strongly stressed, as appears from the vision ofVredeman of the profession of'architect'. In the next contribution the specific examples presented by Vredeman are discussed. Their high level of concreteness and their relationship with tradi-

19 Cfr. P.S. Zimmermann, I.e., (2001), p.12. Zimmermann points out that optics is based upon geometry and the science of perspective. According to this author, both sciences are essential to painting and make it possible to elevate the Artes Mechanicœ to the level of Artes Liberales. She starts from the idea that at the beginning of the seventeenth century it was intended to include the fine arts among the Artes Liberales or at least to elevate them to their status. This hypothesis appears to be rather more typical for the middle of the sixteenth century, as appears from the example of the façade decoration of the house of Frans Floris. 20 On this subject please refer to the lawsuit in 1595 of the masons' guild in Antwerp against a master sculptor. See C. Van de Velde, o.c., 1975, I, Documents 98-9, pp.478-8; C. King, I.e., (1989), p.239. Concerning the famous lawsuit brought before the Court of Utrecht in 1542 and the law-

suit in Antwerp in 1593, see: S. Muller, 'Getuigenverhoor te Antwerpen. Over het maken van ontwerpen van gebouwen in de 16de eeuw door schilders, goudsmeden, timmerlieden en metselaars', in: F.D.O. Obreen (ed.). Archief voor Nederlandse Kunstgesehiedenis 4, (Rotterdam, 1881), pp. 227-45; H. Miedema, 'Over de waadering van architect en beeldende kunstenaar in de zestiende eeuw', Oud Holland, 94 (1980), pp.71-87; P. Lombaerde,' Antwerp in its Golden Age:'one of the largest cities in the Low Countries' and 'one of the best fortified in Europe', in: P. O'Brien et al. (eds.), Urban Aehievernent in Barly Modern Europe. Golden Ages in Antwerp, Arnsterdarn and London, (Cambridge, 2001), pp. 99127; F. Baudouin, 'Peter Paul Rubens and the notion 'PainterArchitect", in: P. Lombaerde (ed.), The Reception of P. P. Rubens's 'Palazzi di Genova' during the 17th Century in Europe: Questions and Problerns, (Turnhout, 2002), pp.15-36.

5

INTRODUCTION

tional solutions, both from a formal and from a building-technical point of view are analysed. Besicles these he also presents new forms, approaches and architectural techniques. The contributions by Charles van den Heuvel and Piet Lombaerde examine the military and hydraulic engineering works - i.e. the engineering works par excellence in the late-sixteenth, early-seventeenth century in Europe-, for which a large number of practical problems have to be solved. They offer examples of the ways in which Vredeman presents these technical solutions in a very persona! and innovative way using his knowledge of perspective, more specifically axonometry, and conceptual techmques. Barbara Uppenkamp gives a great deal of attention to his influences in the field of the representation of the city. Sorne influences from the Scenographia, in particular the 'tragic scene' as it is explained by Sebastiano Serlio, are confronted with the ideal map ofHeinrichstadt (a new expansion ofWolfenbüttel), a project in which Vredeman was also involved. The fact that representations, especially through the use of linear perspective occupy a very special place for Vredeman and even give rise to a large number of obstinate reconstructions of the architectural space, is illustrated by Bart Mermans based upon a few examples of this prints. This supplement uses digital technologies to uphold the confrontation of the perspectivistic method ofV redeman with his drawings and engravings. The second section of this publication concentrates on a number of applied arts and on the influences Vredeman has had on them. The projects for mantle-pieces and gates are given a typological approach and analysed in accordance with their level of innovation. Krista De Jonge further examines whether Hans and PaulVredeman de Vries were inventive or rather tried to represent the achievements of contemporaries in a rather systematic way. As far as the furniture is concerned Ria Fabri examines two important problems: to what extent some of his earlier prints, which already reveal his obstinate linear perspective method, are related to the impressive demand in those days for marquetry in furniture; and what was his contribution to the modernisation of furniture during the late seventeenth century? As far as tapestry is concerned, Cecilia Pare des discusses V redeman's own contribution in the field of iconography and the method of representation. The use of'galleries in perspective' is totally new. The short contribution by Koenraad van Cleempoel offers an overview of the measuring instruments V redeman allegedly used for his calculations and measurements both for perspective and as an architect and engineer. This contribution also illustrates the problem of the paragone of the varions sciences. Considerable attention is given to the leading figure in the world of Drawing and the part played in it by measuring instruments. Finally we leave the Artes Mechanicœ to return to the pure Artes Liberales. In the last contribution Christopher Heuer offers comments on the rhetorical and mythical power ofhis publication Perspective that enjoyed a broad circulation. This allows Vredeman to transcend once again his favourite theoretical and practical subject and shows how his views in this field even ignore a mere method of representation but is elevated to a higher spiritual category. Heuer points out that the similarity between 'technical' practices and the structure of, for example, sixteenth-century rhetorical practices, forces us to considerVredeman de Vries not simply as an architect, an engineer, or a designer, but above allas an experimenter in multiple disciplines and various fields.

6

HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AND THE CONDITIONS OF ARTISTIC PROFESSION IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ANTWERP

Heiner Borggrefe

Hans Vredeman de Vries was an exceptional artist. In arise to fame that both accompanied and matched the expansion of the Antwerp printing trade, he developed ingenious and universally applicable pattern designs for architecture, perspective, ornamentation and the applied arts. These etched designs, reproduced by publishing houses in Antwerp, quickly helped him to become renowned across Europe whilst making a lasting contribution to the spread of the Renaissance style north of the Alps. V redeman de Vries also successfully introduced linear perspective into N etherlandish painting. His two innovations made him a pioneering figure whose influence has been maintained long after his lifetime. However,Vredeman de Vries was not only an innovator, he also performed conventional artistic activities. These included the conception and preparation of festivity decorations for official processions as well as the design of civil architecture, fortified buildings and interiors. Few artists are, or were, as multi-talented as Vredeman de Vries. 1 After completing an apprenticeship as a cabinet-maker he began training as a glass painter but gave this up soon after. He then went on to be employed in the workshop of a middlingly talented painter before finally setting up as a cabinet-maker in Antwerp in 1548. According to Karel van Mander,Vredeman's knowledge of Vitruvius's theories of architecture and perspective, which were to play such a decisive role in his work, was self-taught. His unfinished training as an artist stands in remarkable contrast to his success. He was able to achieve this success because he worked in new artistic fields which departed from the traditional terrain of the guild-controlled artistic occupations. This applies equally to the pattern books for printed graphies, the Vitruvian architectural orders and the scenographic painting.Vredeman became familiar with most of the activities he performed by an unconventional, lateral route. This can offer a path to success if the field in which one is operating within is new and has not yet produced the rigid social structures of protectionism. The appearance of completely new occupational fields within the computer and internet industries provided a good example of this. Sorne years ago there was no clearly defined training programme or controlled professional practice for such jobs. Running parallel to this there remained a lack of a stubborn representative body to enforce obstructive regulations thus making it possible for young talents to achieve rapid success. A glance at the conditions under which Hans Vredeman de Vries worked reveals an essentially comparable situation. In 1548 Vredeman came to Antwerp. Since around 1525 the city had been experiencing an economic boom, which was further increased in 1555 by the peace treaty ofCateauCambrésis.Although in 1549Vredeman was still chiefly employed as a cabinet-maker, working under the direction of Pie ter Coecke van Aelst in Antwerp and Mechelen on decorations for the festivities to welcome Philip II of Spain, the atmosphere of the Vitruvian architecture most certainly fired his imagination, for he soon felt it necessary to study the majorVitruvian treatise by Sebastiano Serlio.Vre-

1

For Vredeman de Vries's Vita, see the first chapter in H. Borggrefe,V Lüpkes, P. Huvenne and B. van Beneden (eds.), Hans Vredeman de Vries und die Renaissance ùn Norden, (exhibition catalogue Weserrenaissance-Museum SchloB Brake, Lemgo, and Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen 2002), (Munich,2002). Dutch edition: Tussen

Stadspaleizen en Luchtkastelen. Hans Vredeman de Vries en de Renaissance, (Ghent, 2002).Thanks toThomas Fusenig and

Michael Bischoff for kind references, and to Bettina Marten, who kindly brought the second illustration to my attention.

7

HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AND THE CONDITIONS OF ARTISTIC PROFESSION

deman may have had persona! reasons for retreating temporarily from Antwerp to Friesland, despite having acquired citizenship in 1548, such reasons are still not apparent. Perhaps the story told by Van Mander - thatVredeman studied the writings ofSerlio at a cabinet-maker's workshop in the Friesian town of Kalium - conceals the profane truth that Vredeman was working as a cabinet-1naker for his father simply to earn his living. 2 Enriched with the knowledge of scenography and column orders, he was discovered again around 1553 in Claude Dorici's painting workshop in Mechelen. Here he perfected his technique of linear perspective. It matched the lively temperament of the artist who was always interested in new things. It was a similar date when he came to the foreground in connection with ornamental designs for the Antwerp publisher Gerard de Jade. These designs were still executed in the so-called 'Floris style', yet with the publication ofhis Scenographiae, printcd in 1560 by Hieronymus Cock, V redeman successfully initiated an entirely and significantly new development. He employed the new technique of linear perspective, previously unknown in the N etherlands, in an equally new artistic medium. The most important factor in the development of the printing industry in Antwerp was the orientation of production towards the export market. The distribution of the pattern of books throughout Europe called for universal designs whose artistic and imaginative potential could be exploited in an individual manner when they reached their unknown final destination. It was the basic needs for an abstract market, rather than a specific usage, that Vredeman's universal pattern design succeeded. This was to distinguish his designs more strongly than the proposed adherence to the model of Classical rhetoric.Antwerp's progressive role as a leading market for printed graphies made it necessary to produce designs which could be used across Europe as a whole.Vredeman's publications solved problems posed by differences in languages and educational requirements because, to a great extent they did not involve text, relying moreover on the power of images and forms to convey their informational content. This satisfied a specific market demand and should not be regarded as a sign ofV redeman's lack of education. For the first time, a market-oriented medium of reproduction shaped an international architectural style. This was due to V redeman and V redeman alone. Presumably, because ofhis unfinished training as a painter,Vredeman de Vries was nota member of Antwerp's Sint Lucasgilde (Guild of St Luke). At least, we have no indication of this in the Liggeren. 3 Being a free master of the guild was a precondition of setting up one's own independent workshop.Vredeman's artistic innovations, the dissemination ofhis ideas and his rapid success, all took place mainly outside the jurisdiction of the guild, parallel to the upsurge in publishing and the new market for graphies. Although membership of the guild enabled Hieronymus Cock and Gerard de Jode to develop their publishing houses and printing workshops, the expansion in the production of printed graphies and playing cards took place mainly outside the traditional spheres of influence of the painters' guild, as these pmducts helonged to a new field of artistic activity. 4 The guilds were corporative representatives set up to protect craftsmen's interests by restricting productivity if the market became stagnant. Since the production of printed graphies established its own, newer market, it did not in fact pose a threat to the old-established members of the guild. From this one cannot derive to a point in which it can be said there was a direct conflict of interest between guild members and export production. It is worth noting here that the Antwerp guilds were more modern than those in Bruges or Ghent, where econornic stagnation sparked interna! rivalry between painters and other craftsmen. Around 1560, many

H. Miedema (ed.), Karel van Mander, the Lives ef the illustrious Netherlandish and German painters,from the first edition of the Schilder-boeck (1603-1604), 6 vols., (Doornspijk, 199498), vol. 5, p. 50. 3 See Ph. Rombouts and Th.Van Lerius (eds.), De liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche Sint Lucasgilde, 3 vols., (Antwerp -The Hague, 1864-76). 2

8

4

De Jade gained freemastership in 154 7, Hieronymus Cock in 1546. See Ph. Rombauts and Th.Van Lerius (eds.), o.c., pp. 156, 159. For the relation of the printing industries to the guilds see: J. Van der Stock, Printing images in Antwerp the Introduction of Printmaking in a City - Fifteenth Century to 1585, (Rotterdam, 1998),p.108.

HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AND THE CONDITIONS OF ARTISTIC PROFESSION

painters, carvers and other traditional artists made their living in Antwerp from the still-expanding export market. Here, a master and a journeyman were both paid the same, indicating the weak influence of the guilds. 5 The booming graphie market provided the basis for Vredeman's brilliant artistic career, something that would certainly have been denied to him had he remained in the traditional sphere of painting. His innovation of the scenographic depiction of architecture was initially disseminated through the medium of printed graphies, and his early scenographic panel paintings and murals were perhaps an attempt to continue the success ofhis graphies with suggestive means in the medium of painting. As they were indeed an innovation, these works were clearly no competition for the painters in the guild. The Duke of Alba's politics did not hinder the success ofVredeman's graphies, but they interrupted his activities in 1570 preventing him from climbing any further upon Antwerp's social ladder. In Aachen - outside the jurisdiction of the Antwerp guild - it seems likely V redeman took Hendrick van Steenwijk on as a pupil. 6 In 1575 he returned to Antwerp. The architectural pattern designs he created then were to be his most successful series. Of major importance for V redeman was the fact he managed to win important public commissions during the period of the Calvinist administration under William of Orange, from 1577 to 1585.Vredeman redesigned the Spaniards's castle, erected fortifications outside the city and turned the Governor's palace inside the castle into a residence for William of Orange. He also painted interior decorations for the hall of the Palace and for the rebuilt Town Hall, the original one having been destroyed by fire. In 1582 he prepared the festive decorations for a procession in honour of the Duke of Anjou - to name but a few ofhis most important commissions. What is striking about these commissions is that Vredeman was rarely given sole responsibility for them even though he had a far greater share of the work being carried out. For the extension of the fortifications he was subordinate to the painter Hans van Schille. The painting work in the palace of the citadel was carried out in collaboration with the painter Cornelis Enghelrams, and in the Town Hall with the town painter Pieter Leys.All ofVredeman's early paintings - those which were painted, dated and signed before his first flight from Antwerp - were made together with the Antwerp painter Gillis Mostaert.7Vredeman also produced panelling and wooden interiors for the Town Hall, but again as a part of a cooperation, this time with the town carpenter Pieter van Geelkercke. 8 In similar fashion, town pain ter Pieter Leys was assigned to him to prepare decorations for the festive procession to welcome the Duke of Anjou. 9 Why were these commissions divided up? Vredeman was for the most part far superior to those colleagues who were assigned to him and could have easily carried out the work on his own. Instead, he had to share responsibility for the con1niissions, and the reason for this seemingly stemmed from the fact Vredeman was not a regular member of the guild. To commission him on his own would have put him on a level with a free master, a rank to which he was not entitled. Such an infringement of the rules was no doubt avoided in order not to disturb the balance of interests between the city's patrons and guilds. On doser inspection it can be seen that the influence of the guilds did play a role in the public commissions Vredeman received under the Calvinist city administration.

5

H. van der Wee, The Growth of the Antwerp Market, (The Hague, 1963), vol. 2, p. 196. 6 H. Miedema (ed.), o.c., vol. 5,p. 229. See also: H.Borggrefe et al., o.c., 2002, nos. 42, 45. 7 Ibid., nos. 9, 17, 27, 121, 124, 126. 8 F. Blockmans, 'Een krijgstekening, een muurschildering

en een schilderij van Hans Vredeman de Vries te Antwerpen (1577-1586)', Tijdschrift der Stad Antwerpen, 8 (1962), pp.20-42, p. 25 note 64. 9 A. Gielens, 'De costen van de Blijde Intrede van den Hertog van Anjou (1582)',Antwerpen'.5 Oudheidkundige Kring, 16 (1940), p. 96.

9

HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AND THE CONDITIONS OF ARTISTIC PROFESSION

1. Anonymous. The citadel of Antwerp. Engraving, after 157 4. (Antwerp, private collection)

After 1577, William of Orange wanted to elevate Antwerp to the capital of the independent general states. He was supported by the wealthiest Antwerp merchants, which appeared Gillis Hooftman, Andries van der Meulen andJohan Rademacher. 10 These wealthy members ofsociety and their families were able to pull political strings inAntwerp following the arrival ofWilliam ofOrange.Together they formed an oligarchy, leaving little political power for the Breeden Raad. This Great Council, which was headed by two mayors, was dominated above ail by the guilds.11 The guilds also supplied the twenty-six Wijkmeesters who were responsible for civic defence and exercised a certain amount of police authority. As. in most other cities in Northern Europe, the guilds in Antwerp also lost a great deal oftheir political influence to the oligarchy of the nouveau riche, who had attained their status through trade and banking. The Council's influence was confined to upholding decisions that had previously been made by the oligarchie committee of sixteen Schepenen who made up the Magistraat. The relationship between the Breeden Raad and the Magistraat had been problematic since the late 1540s, when there was considerable disagreement regarding the financing of the city fortifications, a measure enforced by Charles V On the other hand, they were always careful to maintain a ·balance of interests, particu-

lü For the history ofAntwerp in sixteenth century, see J.Van der Stock (ed.), Antwerp, story of a metropolis, 16"' - 17'h century, (exhibition catalogue, Hessenhuis, Antwerp), (Ghent, 1993) and R. van Roosbroeck, Antwerpen de vermaarde koopmansstad. Geschiedenis van de Opstand in de Nederlanden,

10

(Antwerp, 1988). F. Prims, 'De betekenis van den 'Breeden raad'. Brederaadsvergadering', in: Antwerpiensia 1941, (Wetteren, 1942), pp.4364; R. Boumans, H et Antwerps stadsbestuur vôôr en tijdens de Franse overheersing, (Brugge, 1965), p. 27. 11

HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AND THE CONDITIONS OF ARTISTIC PROFESSION

2.Anonymous. Citadel ofAntwerp: demolition of the fronts of the two bastions oriented to the city, on 23August 1577 by the Antwerp population. Engraving, c. 1577. (Spain, Simancas)

lady since the guild-controlled craftsmen did not experience any economic disadvantages as a result of Antwerp's export boom. 12 The situation changed soon after 1577 following the arrival ofWilliam of Orange- N assau. William made demands of the city. In August 1577, following the expulsion of the Spanish, the Council was in favour of having the castle razed to the ground because it was a permanent rerninder ofAlba's reign of terror and the Spaansche Furie (Spanish Fury) of the previous year (see Figs.1,2). The population believed citadels attracted warrior peoples. William of Orange, however, insisted the citadel be maintained. A compromise was reached, whereby it was agreed that the castle would be demolished on the sicle facing the city and be integrated into the fortifications so that it no longer represented a threat for Antwerp. Next,William of Orange set about replacing the Wijkmeester of the city's civic guard with a staff of colonels whom he recruited from the ranks of the Calvinist oligarchies. His method is easily transparent. The old civic guard was traditionally organized by the guilds. Its members were pre-

12 H. Soly, ' Fortificaties, belastingen en corruptie te Antwerpen in het midden der 16de eeuw', Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis, 53 (1970),pp. 191-210.

11

HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AND THE CONDITIONS OF ARTISTIC PROFESSION

dominantly Catholics or Lutherans. As William of Orange wanted to convert Antwerp into a Calvinist republic, he made sure that his sympathizers were appointed as colonels. Their authority was further extended in 1581, giving them unlimited power over ail other political bodies and institutions. 13 From now on, the guilds represented in the Breeden Raad, who were generally conservative, began to oppose William of Orange's politics. Their large-scale dismissal as Wijkmeesters of the city's civic guard was regarded as an affront. Added to this was the fact that although the Great Co un cil was completely restricted in terms of its political competence, it was nonetheless still obliged to keep on raising money to finance the war of liberation and the alimentation of William of Orange in Antwerp. This money had to be raised by means of fiscal measures and through the confiscation and sale of church property, including the sale of altars. As the members of the guilds were predominantly Catholic and therefore adhered to the traditional ritual of celebrating mass before a public altar, the sale of altars was a difficult issue which put further strain on interdenominational relations between the Catholic guilds and the Calvinist administration. 14 A review of this change in the distribution of forces sheds light on the commissioning terms un der which V reden1an worked in Antwerp. Before the colonels assumed power, he had always been assigned a colleague who was a member of the guild to work with on commissions, such as Hans van Schille or Pieter Leys. On one occasion afterwards he received the commission directly from the colonels. 15 We know in 1586 Vredeman had difficulties with the Breeden Raad, which refused to pay him for his work on the buitenschansen (outer works) and forts. Despite the notorious shortage of public fonds at this time, the Council's reservation may also have had something to do with the fact that the councillors, who were predominantly guild members, resentedVredeman bccausc hc was favoured with commissions during the Calvinist government despite not being a member of the painters' guild. Vredeman was undoubtedly close to the Calvinist government during this period, as his handwritten and programmatic dedication to William of Orange confirms. 16 This seems to apply to the city craftsmen who worked with Vredeman on his initial commissions. A widowed member of town painter Pieter Leys's family occupied an apartment in the Spanish castle, where only staatsgezinden lived. 17 And in N ovember 1580 the town carpenter Andries Eertveld was a member of the committee in charge of confiscating church property in order to transform the St Jacob Church into a Calvinist church. 18 We see V redeman working in Antwerp under unusual conditions of employment which, in general, tended to favour the guilds. While Vredeman's special position as a successful artist with an unfinished apprenticeship can be explained on the one hand by the new line of business producing graphies for the export market, and on the other by the Calvinists' policy of disregarding the guilds, it is also possible to identify other and more general changes taking place in the sixteenth century which had an effect on his position as an artist. On the whole it can be said that the guilds's influence was suppressed in the sixteenth century. In a primarily market-oriented city like Antwerp this took place in a more drastic manner. The relationship of the guilds to the production of goods for foreign trade

13 F. Prims, De

Religionsvrede 1578-1581 (De groote cultuurstrijd, 1ste Boek), (Antwerp-Brussels-Ghent-Leuven, 1942), p. 78. 14 F. Prims, 'De geestelijke goederen onder Willem van Oranje', in: Antwerpiensia1933, (Antwerp, 1933), pp. 189-97, p. 196f. 15 H. Van Schille gained freemastership in 1533, see Ph. Rombouts and Th.Van Lerius, o.c., YOl.1, p.120. P. Leys is mentioned in 1528 as freemaster, ibid., p. 111. He died in 1585, see F. Prims, De Christelijke Republiek, (Antwerp, 1943),

12

p.266. 16 H. Borggrefe et al., o.c., 2002, no. 136. 17 It was the widow of town painter Jan Leys, who seems to be a brother of Pieter Leys. In November 1563 Hieronymus Cock purchased the house of Jan Leys. See J. Van der Stock, o.c., 1998, p. 237 note 11. 18 F. Prims, o.c., 1942, p. 205. In March 1582 he received the commission to transport pews from St. Michiel to St.Joris, see ibid., p.107.

HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AND THE CONDITIONS OF ARTISTIC PROFESSION

can here be compared to that of today's trade unions to the so-called globalisation of the international market. 19 In the guise of a force of regulatory order, the guilds attempted to preserve their existing privileges through protectionist measures, and were willing to accept new professions only on condition that they could share in their booming prosperity. An important feature of the change taking place in the artistic professions in the sixteenth century is that buildings were increasingly designed by visual artists. This occurred, above ail, in situations where courtly or humanistically inclined patrons wished to have architectural structures built according to the Vitruvian rules of proportion and decoration. The traditional guilds of the stonemasons and Cleijsteecker, or architectural sculptors, who had been responsible for the design ofbuildings in the Middle Ages, were for the most part unable to stay abreast of the new cultural developments. A number of examples make it clear that it were the visual artists who communicated the new vocabulary of forms from Italy. In 1536 Tommaso Vincidor designed the Nassau Palace in Breda. Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Jan Gossaert and Lambert Lombard were painters who all, in very different ways, contributed to the spread ofClassical architectural forms in the Netherlands. Lombard designed and built buildings, as did the sculptors Jacques Dubroeucq, Cornelis Floris and later the painter Bartholomeus van Bassen. In terms of his professional education,Vredeman was also a painter, with the relevant training in proportional drawing. The introduction ofVitruvianism into Netherlandish architecture was without question performed by the visual artists. Unlike the master builders of the guilds, the painters and sculptors were, by virtue of their differentiated training in draughtsmanship, able to take up and apply the new Vitruvian forms and subjects. High-ranking, predominantly courtly patrons, or members of the city oligarchies, demanded to have the representative new Italian forms and disregarded the guilds' traditional authority. In Antwerp, architecture competitions were held for the building of the new Town Hall and the reconstruction of the Governor's Palace in the Spanish Castle, in both of which Vredeman de Vries took part.Vredeman's rivals for the commission to rebuild the Town Hall were painters and sculptors. 20 This development also introduced the concept of the architect to the Netherlands; it was first used by Coecke vanAelst, who adopted the term from Serlio andVitruvius.We also find evidence of the term being used by V redeman. 21 As Hess cl Micdcma has pointcd out, the genesis of the modern architect lies in developments in the visual arts during the sixteenth century, which culminated in the replacement of the guilds system. 22 The same app lies to the engineer, who was capable of constructing modern Italian fortifications. 23 Hans Vredeman de Vries and Hans van Schille, the engineers responsible for the fortification works during the Calvinist administration in Antwerp, were painters. The fact that a pain ter as Vredeman de Vries worked as an architect or engineer was less a ques-

19

H. van der Wee, o.c., 1963, vol. 2, p.196. On the competition, see H. Bevers, Das Rathaus von Antwerpen (15 61-15 65). Architektur und Figurenprogramm, (Hildesheim-Zürich-New York, 1985), p. 8. 21 Vredeman de Vries uses the term architect for example in his Dorica-Ionica from 1565. See P. S. Zimmermann, Die Architectura von Hans Vredeman de Vries, (Munich - Berlin, 2002), pp.136f. 22 H. Miedema, 'Over de waardering van architect en beeldende kunstenaar in de zestiende eeuw', Oud Ho/land, 94 (1980), pp.71-87. Also K.J. Philipp, '"Een huys in rnanieren van eynre kirchen". Werkrneister, Palier, Steinlieferant, Zimmermann und die Bauorganisation in den Niederlanden vom 14. bis 16. Jahrhundert', WallrafRichartz:fahrbuch, 50 (1989), pp. 69-113; K. De Jonge, 20

'Architekturpraxis in den Niederlanden in der frühen N euzeit - Die Rolle der italienischen Militararchitekten; der status quaestionis', in: G. Bers and C. Doose (eds.) Der italienische Architekt Alessandro Pasqualini und die Renaissance am Niederrhein, (Jülich, 1994), pp. 363-83; R. Meischke, 'Het architectonische ontwerp in de Nederlanden gedurend de late middeleeuwen en de zestiende eeuw', Bulletin van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Oudheidkundige Bond, 6 (1952), pp. 161-230; D. Kimpel, 'La sociogénèse de l'architecte moderne', in: Artistes, artisans et production artistique au Moyen Age, vol. 1, Les Hommes, (Paris, 1986), pp. 246-72. 23 J. Muller, 'Les ingénieurs militaires dans les Pays-Bas espagnols (1500-1715)', Revue Internationale d'Histoire Militaire, (1959), pp. 467-78.

13

HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES AND THE CONDITIONS OF ARTISTIC PROFESSION

tion of vocation or inclination and more often the result of a combination of ability, opportunity and external constraints. For V redeman, the construction of ramparts and fortifications in Antwerp was not prompted by an artistic need. It was a necessity that arose from the circumstances of war and the opportunity to make a career for himself un der William of Orange. It was not difficult for courtly patrons to disregard the authority of the guilds. The example of Vredeman de Vries makes it clear that similar developments were taking place in a progressive city like Antwerp. One final, often quoted example illustrates how hostile the guilds were to modern developments. In 1542 legal proceedings were held in Antwerp over the question as to whether non-members of the stonemasons's guild were entitled to prepare architectural designs. A certain Jacob van der Borch had, together with the carpenter Willem van der Noort, produced a design for a building in Utrecht. In their defence, the accused stated that the Italians Tommaso Vincidor, Donato Boni di Pellizuoli, Alessandro Pasqualini and others had also prepared architectural designs without being members of the stonemasons' guild. 24 What this legal action clearly shows is the protectionist approach taken by the guilds. Twenty years later, when Vredeman was working in Antwerp, the guilds had more or less resigned themselves to the new situation. Extravagant architectural structures built in the Italian style, such as Antwerp's city gates, the newTown Hall, the Granvelle Palace in Brussels or the portal ofSaintJacques in Liège, served to remind them of their own artistic limitations.

There may have been latent resentment of the Vitruvian formal language embodied by Vredeman. After Alessandro Farnese had recaptured Antwerp in 1585, the Spanish began recatholicizing the city. New altars were erected in the churches and the guilds began celebrating their rn~asses as they had before 1580. The reconversion to Catholicism was accompanied by voices who wanted to banish the satyrs, fauns, herms and other such Vitruvian-influenced decorative forms that had recently made their appearance in churches. 25 With all due circumspection, it may be possible to infer from this reaction that Vitruvianism in Antwerp was the representative formal language of innovation which accompanied the development of the export market and the growing influence of courtly patrons.

24

S. Muller, 'Getuigenverhoor te Antwerpen. Over het maken van ontwerpen van gebouwen in de 16de eeuw door schilders, goudsmeden, timmerlieden en metselaars', in: F.D. O. Obreen (ed.). Archief voor Nederlandse Kunstgeschiede-

14

nis 4, (Rotterdam, 1881), pp. 227-45. F. Prims, Geschiedenis van Antwerpen, (Antwerp, 1943), vol. 8, p. 81.

25

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE IN THE PUBLICATIONS OF HANS VREDEMAN DE VRIES

Petra Sophia Zimmermann

Introduction

Hans Vredeman de Vries created a large number of illustrated publications. He designed the prints for series dealing with ornaments, architectural perspective views, objects of applied art and details of architecture. In addition, he wrote two treatises: one on architecture and an other on perspective. Vredeman's books were read with interest in many parts of Europe, and in the "New World" his designs were taken and reworked. 1V redeman, with his publications, did mu ch to spread a Renaissance ofDutch style, especially north of the Alps. A question, therefore arises concerning the practical implication of the prints: were they meant as pattern books to deliver examples for a concrete usage, or should they familiarize the viewer more fundamentally with the presented formal language, and did they have an inspiring efiect? V redeman was a versatile artist who worked as a pain ter, architect, town planner and engineer. As a consequence of his practical work, he was already familiar with a series of themes for which he produced designs for prints. Therefore, one could assume that a relationship between his design activities and his practical work existed - and that the publications were a counterpart, or complement, to his remaining activities.A doser look, however, at his graphie work, shows that he had the knowledge and experiences to implement it. It shows as well that a concrete reference to one of his projects cannot be made: Vredeman neither elevated a completed work to be a teaching example, nor did he himself realize a design presented in the books. Hence, the publications should be viewed mainly for their own sake and examined for their implicit relation to practicc. Vredeman's illustrated publications appeared from 1555 until 1605 and, thus, span over half a century. The biographer Karel van Mander, in his Schilderboek from 1604, begins with a detailed account ofVredeman's Antwerp graphie production and states, that "all add up to some 2 6 books." Beyond this, he names the book on perspective, part I of which had just corne out in Lei den. 2 Many of these series and books begin with title pages in which the prospective user is named. Artists of varions disciplines, as well as "lovers" of these disciplines are, in this way, directly addressed. Further accompanying texts found in some books, but especially the illustration plates, allow for conclusions as to the intentions of these prints. In general, the influence of the publishers should not be underestimated. They were the ones who bore the business responsibility: they placed the orders to the designers and engravers - in the case

1 Th. Da Costa

Kaufmann, 'Die Kunstmetropole Antwerpen und ihr EinfluB aufEuropa und die Welt', in: H. Borggrefe, V. Lüpkes, P. Huvenne and B.Van Beneden (eds.), Hans Vredeman de Vries und die Renaissance im Norden, (Munich, 2002), p. 42. 2 H. Miedema (ed.), K. van Mander. The Lives of the Illus-

trious Netherlandish and German PaintersJrom the first edition of the Schilderboeck (1603-1604), (Doornspijk, 1994), pp.

322, 326. In contrast, Fuhring cornes in his summary of the graphie oeuvre oNredeman to approximately 32 series and single plates. See P. Fuhring and G. Luijten (eds.), Vredeman de Vries, ( Hollstein's Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts 1450-1700. Vols. XLVII and XLVIII)., Part I, 1555-1571, Part II, 1572-1630, 2 vols., (Rotterdam, 1997).

15

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

ofVredeman's books, mainly to the brothers Johannes and Lucas van Doetecum; they took over the production costs and deterrnined the size of the edition, or the area of distribution.3 U nfortunately, no sources remain to give us a more precise look into the relationship between Vredeman and his respective publishers. However, one can assume that, if the publishers took the initiative in early series, V redeman gradually managed, with increasing success, to realize his own thematic proposals.With the help of a representative selection of publications, I will attempt to give an overview ofVredeman's themes and their respective intentions.

Ornament Series Vredeman began his career as designer of prints with the publisher Gerard de Jode, who brought out two series ofhis with strapwork cartouches in 1555.Around 1556-57Vredeman changed over to de Jode's competitor, Hieronymus Cock, creating designs for three large strapwork cartouches.4 These early series ofVredeman, though thematically related to prints published earlier by Cock, such as the cartouche series after designs from the Florentine Benedetto Battini (1553) and the series of grotesques with strapwork after Cornelis Floris (1554), are still, as Mielke states, of astounding independence and originality. 5

1-- . ---- -

----- --,

1

1. Hans Vredeman de Vries, Multarum variarumque protractionum, Antwerp, 1555 (Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, 26.6 Geom.)

3

1. Veldman, Hans Vredeman de Vries und die Herausbildung des Antwerpener Graphikgewerbes, in: H. Borggrefe et al. (eds.), o.c., 2002, p. 54. 4 Ibid., p. 54. 5 H. Mielke, Hans Vredeman de Vries. Verzeichnis der Stichwerke und Beschreibung seines Stils sowie Beitrdge zum Werk Gerard Groennings, (Berlin, 1967), p. 81.

16

The title of the first series speaks generally of a "libellus utilissimus". In the title of the second series, the painters, as well as the " Studiosi", are referred to concretely; 6 this is due to the cartouche inserted citations from classical authors (see Fig.1). The demand for such designs by the artists, w hether painters or cartographers and sculptors, was certainly a motivating reason for the publisher to bring out entire scries consisting of su ch ornamentation. 7 The additional addressing of a wider interested public shows, however, that the primary intention went beyond a purely practical application; another aspect was "to demonstrate the artist's fertility of invention and to give pleasure to the visitor". 8 In the time which followed, the ornament series remained a specialty ofVredeman. In the second half of the 1550's, two series with strapwork cartouches appeared from Cock's inheritance, whereby the plates here are filled with decorations of grotesques and interlaced bands. In the second

6 T.A.

Riggs, Hieronymus Cock (1510-1570): Printmaker and Publisher in Antwerp at the sign of the Four Winds , (New York - London, 1977), p. 196. 7 P. Fuhring, Cat. Nos. 61, 62, in: H. Borggrefe et al. (eds.), o.c., 2002, p. 237. 8 T. A. Riggs, o.c., 1977, p. 196.

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

half of the 1560's and the beginning of the 70's,Vredeman designed for Gerard deJode ornaments after classical prototypes, such as grotesques, portraits of emperors and trophies. It is mentioned in the title Grottesco-Series (c. 1565-71) that it should be useful for painters, glasswriters and stonemasons and ail those who love the delicate ornaments of classical prototypes.9 Still the plates, due to their extraordinary richness in detail, can hardly be seen as mere pattern work (see Fig.2). If, as in the recentVredeman exhibition of the year 2002, abjects are referred to which thank these series for their stimulating décor, then only single motifs were taken from the large amount of offers. 10 The observer was, therefore, introduced on a much wider scale to the new ornamcntal language.

Series ofArchitectural Perspective Views With the year 1560, series ofVredeman's appeared that were dedicated to a completely new subject: the architectural perspective views.The first comprehensive series for Cock bore the title Scenographiae sive Perspectivae. Invented city and architectural perspective views, in which the linear perspective has been meticulously worked out, are presented on 20 plates (see Fig.3). The subtitle 2. HansVredeman de Vries, Grottesco,Antwerp, 1565-71 (Rijksmuemphasizes that these designs of the painter"Ioanne seum Amsterdam, RP-P-OB-6173) V reedmanno Frisio" were conceived and drawn with imagination, then brought to light by Hieronymus Cock for the painters and ail those who enjoy such things - and this not without the permission of the king, so that no one in His kingdom may dare print these plates in order to sell or distribute them in any form. 11 The publication must, therefore, have been initiated by Hieronymus Cock, who foresaw its success and the effect it would have on its audience. As a result, he clearly pointed out the publisher's privileges and printing rights. In addition

9 The full title is: Grottesco: in diversche manieren zeer Chierlijck bequam en oirboorlijc voor Schilders, Glaesschrijuers, Beeldsnijders en al die de Chierlijcke ornamenten der Antiquen beminnen, {. . .).See P. Fuhring and G. Luijten (eds.), o.c., 1997, part I, pp. 217-31. 10 H. Borggrefe et al. (eds.), o.c., 2002, pp. 238-65. 11 The full title is: Scenographiae, sive Perspectivae (ut Aedificia, hoc modo ad opticam excitata, Pictorum vu/gus vocat) pulcherrimae viginti selectissimarum fabricarum, à pictore loanne Vreedmanno Frisio ingeniosissime excogitatae & designatae: & à Hieronymo Cock in gratiam pictorum aliorum 'que huiusmodi rebus se oblec-

tantium his venustissimis typis in lucem aeditae. Non sine Regio Privilegio, ne ques in omnib. Suae Maiestatis regionibus has tabe/las imprimere aut alibi impressas vendere, aut aliquo modo distrahere audeat. As can be read there further, the printing privilege lasted six years: Avec Privilege du Roy pour six ans. See P. Fuhring and G. Luijten (eds.), o.c., 1997, part I, pp. 58-68. Theodoor Galle published this series, in combination with the series of the oval architectural perspectives views for intarsia work, 41 years later under a different title Vciriae Architecturae Formae.

17

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

3. Scenographiae, sive perspectivae, Antwerp, 1560, pl. 1 (Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, 36.13 Geom. 2° (5))

to this, it is stressed that the architectural perspective views should be understood as themes of painting, having been created by a painter for painters and lovers of painting. In fact, these plates could not have been seen as instruction for architects, since the buildings depicted are rarely visible in their complete form and have, for the most part, a fantastic structure without any clear function. 12 The plates, however, served the painters of architecture in various ways, such as for orientation or even as models, and were enlivened by decorative figures. 13 Moreover, the perspective views were also pictures in them-

12 E.

Forssman, Saule und Ornament. Studien zum Problem des .Manierismus in den nordischen Siiulenbüchern und Vorlagebliittern des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts, (Stockholm, 1956), p. 86. T.A. Riggs, o.c., 1977, p. 182. 13 Especially D. Deaujean, 'Gemalde nach Kupferstichen: Interieurentwürfe des Hans Vredeman de Vries und ihre Umsetzung in Gemalden des 16. und l 7.Jahrhunderts',Jaarboek Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten van Antwer-

18

pen,(1998), pp. 385-400. See also H. Mielke, o.c., 1967, pp. 204-6 (Kat.nr. IV,V).J.P.C.M. Ballegeer, 'Enkele voorbeelden van de invloed van Hans en Paulus Vredeman de Vries op de architeccuurschilders in de Nederlanden gedurende de XVIe en XVIIe eeuw', Gentse Bijdragen tot de Kunstgeschiedenis en de Oudheidkunde, 20, (1967), pp. 55-70. H. Vlieghe, Flemish Art and Architecture 1585- 1700 (New Haven - London, 1998), pp. 200-2.

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

4. HansVredeman de Vries, OvaJ architectural perspective views for intarsia work,Antwerp, c. 1560-2 (Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, N 37 Helmst. 2° (1))

selves. In this way, the motif separates here from a concrete usage and demonstrates the possible autonomy of such plates. This, as well as a very sirnilar series with 28 small architectural perspective views from the year 1562, Cock supplied with a dedication to Antoine Perrenot, the Cardinal Granvelle, who was referred to as the premier advisor of King Philip II of Spain and a generous patron of the arts. 14 Around the same time appeared a series of20 symmetrically arranged architectural perspective views in oval frames (c. 1560-62). Cock dedicates this series to Peter Ernst Count of Mansfeld, the confidant of Emperor Charles V and of King Philip II, as well as of the Governor of the principality of Luxemburg. Since dedications are seldom in Vredeman's books 15 , these deserve special attention. Due to the respectable position of the two influential personalities - both belonged to the close circle of Emperor Charles V and Philip II and were famous art collectors - Cock expresses his thanks, as well as, more indirectly, his

14 See P. Fuhring and G. Luijten (eds.), o.c., 1997, part I, pp. 58, 94: the dedications that are engraved on a separate plate vary slightly in their formulations, however, in both cases, Perrenot is equally represented as ,,Omnium Bonarum

Artium M ecoenati". 15 OnlyVredeman's treatise Architectura, dealt with in the following, published by Gerard de Jode, contains a dedication also to the Count of Mansfeld.

19

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

hope for future support 16 . Cock had an especially important supporter in Cardinal Granvelle, who helped him attain, for his publishing house "In de Vier Winden", an official status and, th us, printing privileges. 17 The dedications, which underline the novelty of these publications, functioned as a kind of advertisement for the publisher. The concrete realization was made possible primarily by the series with oval architectural perspective views: in contrast to the two other series mentioned, the perspective views here have been composed according to a strict symmetry and consist of simple building structures (see Fig. 4). For the most part, a column hall or arch architecture forms the transition from a foreground to a building in the central background. Van Mander's helpful statement describes the fonction of this series, which, except for the dedication page, has no title. This statement says that the plates "with the vanishing point in the middle [were created] for the intarsia workers". 18 The statement deals here with an instructional series for the woodworking trade, while also covering the different ornaments in the four angles as strapwork or moresques, found in contemporary intarsia work. 19 A specialty ofthese architectural views is that they can be found predominantly in the Netherlands. Hence, images are created of typical urban situations with canals and bridges, as well as local building traditions in the form of multi-level gable houses with large-scale windows.At the same time, a reliance on the Italian Renaissance is emphasized, whether due to building types such as palaces and triumphal arches, or by a formal language determined by column orders and classical ornamentation. In this way, the flowing intention that binds Vredeman's entire graphie oeuvre is obvious in these early serials: the architecture, charactcristic of the North, should merge with the formal principles taken from antiquity and the Italian Renaissance.

Series of Objects of Applied Art ln 1563 two series appeared: the first with designs for vessels, the second with designs for tombs and funeral monuments.The plates were meant to exemplify the way those objects could be conceived of in the field (see Fig. 5). 20 The 12-plate vessel series contains no title page. 21 The series Coenotaphiorum has, on the other hand, a Latin title formulated by Hieronymus Cock that addresses directly the artists and, in this way, also plays on the previously mentioned inner relationship of designer and publisher: 'painters, sculptors, architects, stonecutters and all those who contribute to the eternal recognition of emperors and famous men[ ... ] study and use this book,[ ... ] and then applaud the ingenious

16

In ail three series the dedication closes with the words ,,Hieronymus Cock, Pictor, devotissime dedicabat." 17 J. Burgers, 'Inleiding', in:J. Burgers (ed.), In de Vier Winden. De prentenuitgeverij van Hieronymus Cock 1507110-1570 te Antwerpen, (exhibition catalogue Museum Boymans-van Beuningen), (Rotterdam, 1988), p. 5. By 1551 Cock had already dedicated a reproduction of Ghisi after the ,,Disputà" ofRaphael as well as a series of ruins Praecipua aliquot Romanae antiquitatis ruinarum monimenta to the Cardinal Granvelle. See C. Banz, Hofisches Mdzenatentum in Brüssel. Kardinal Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (1517-1586) und die Erzherziige Albrecht (1559-1621) und Isabella (1566-1633), (Berlin, 2000), p. 63. 18 H. Miedema (ed.), o.c., 1994-9, p. 322.

20

19

E. Forssman, o.c., 1956, p. 87.An example of a linen cabinet is described in P.Werhahn-Fleischhauer, 'Melchior von Rheidt und die Frage der Kiilner Intarsienmiibel', in: W Schafke (ed.), Coellen eyn Croyn: Renaissance und Barack in Kain, (Cologne, 1999), pp. 255-94. For the influence ofVredeman's prints on the furniture production in Cologne: see R. Baarsen,'Lemgo andAntwerp', Burlington Magazine, 144 (2002), pp. 772-3. 20 Series to these themes were, also in this case, previously designed by Cornelis Floris: See I.Veldman, I.e., 2002, pp. 556. Regarding the ewer, see: The Glory of the Golden Age. (Cat. RijksmuseumAmsterdam), (Zwolle, 2000), p. 15. 21 See P. Fuhring and G. Luijten (eds.), o.c., 1997, part I, pp. 153-6.

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

hand ofJohan Vredeman de Vries, who created them [the designs], and the generosity of Hieronymus Cock, who paid for their publication'. 22 The designs were aimed, however, mainly at a wealthy patronage and its learned advisors. 23 These show the lines of Latin text at the bottom of the following 26 pages. Given the evidence of crests and symbols used on funeral monuments, one can find out for whom one particular tomb type was meant. Starting with a mausoleum for Emperor Charles V and a sarcophagus for his wife Isabella of Portugal, further designs were introduced for names of extraordinary personalities or titles such as prince, army commander or priest. After twenty years Vredeman took up the theme of applied art again and created for Philip Galle a series with designs for furniture (1583). 24 Similar to the previously mentioned early works, this collection of patterns is also to be understood as referring to practice. Carpenters, as well as laymen25 interested in applied art, were presumably given suggestions for furnishing-objects for interior rooms to be worked on in wood. In the title, the furniture and architectural fixtures were listed in detail: Portaux, Bancs, Escabelles, Tables, buffets, friese, ou corniches, licts-de camp, ornements a pendre l'essuoir 5. Paulus van Vianen, Ewer, Silver (1613) (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, BK-16089-B) a mains, fontaines a laves les mains. In this way, Vredeman covers the complete spectrum of carpentry work and shows the viewer a rich variety of formal possibilities. He proves himself, once again, as an able "inventor'', who not only masters the most varied of themes, but who knows how to break these themes clown into the widest possible range of forms.

Books of Columns and the Book "Caryatidum" In his books of columns, Dorica Ionica and Corinthia Composita, published by Cock in 1565, Vredeman initiated, for the first time, the publications, and annotates them with his own introduc-

22

The original Latin title is: Pietores, Statuarii,Arehiteeti, Latomi, et quineunque principum magnificorum'que uirorum memoriae aeternae inseruitis, adeste: & hune libellum uarias Coenotaphiorum, tumulorum & nwrtuorum monumentorum formas typis elegantijJimis in aere exaratas comprehendentem inspicitote, emite, utimini & ingeniosae manui Ioanni Vredemanni Frisii, que has excogitauit & liberalitati Hieronimi Coek, euius impensis haee uobis

exhibentur. See P. Fuhring and G. Luijten (eds.), o.e., 1997, part I, pp. 134-51. 23

P. Fuhring, I.e., 2002, Cat. No. 96, pp. 261-2.

2 4 Cf. the contribution by Ria Fabri. 25 The subtitle specifies: ,,Menuiziers

et autres amateurs de telle science" . See P. Fuhring and G. Luijten (eds.), o.e., 1997, part II, pp. 140-55.

21

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

tion. 26 In the first book of columns, Vredeman announces that he has, for some time, been dealing with the teachings ofVitruvius and other books about the classical architecture and the five columnar orders, so that he "aujf begeren und anhalten etlicher, sa mich darzu vermanet haben" ('on the wish of many who demanded this from me') decided to publish architectural details about these orders. Vredeman addresses the painters, sculptors, stonemasons, carpenters and glass-makers, as well as the lovers of these trades. In the introduction he makes clear in which way the books of columns should be consulted: from the existing examples "mag eyn je der nemen was ihm gefellt" (' each can take what he likes') and transform "wie es dem werck am besten dienlich ist" (' how it is bestfor the work'). 27 Upon viewing the plates depicting single architectural details, such as pedestals, lower parts of the columns, capital zones with entablature or gable tops with various kinds of ornamentation, only a limited applicability is shown: though small mcasurement scales have been partially included, the fact that the columns aren't shown in their entirety prevents the artist from establishing the necessary scale-relationships. Thus, it is not surprising that mainly the fully represented gable decorations had a strong influ6. Hans Vredeman de Vries, Das erst Bvch,gemacht avff de Zvvey Colom- ence on the building practice (see Fig. 6). 28 More nen Dorica und Ionica, Antwerp, 1565, pl. E (Koninklijke Bibliotheek important was the spreading of a classical formal Den Haag, 1700 D 3 (2)) language transported to the traditions of the north. In his introduction to the second book of columns Vredeman says: "Denn es schickt sich nicht ubel, wenn man das al te mit dem newen maessiglich schmucket." (' Because it doesn 't fit badly, when the old is modestly adorned by the new'. )29 . The book Caryatidum vulgus Termas vocat, published around the same time as the books of columns by Gerard de Jode belongs to this context. 30 Vredeman presents a variety of designs for terms

26

P. S. Zimmermann, 'Hans Vredeman de Vries - ein ,,uomo universale"?', Bulletin KNOB, 100, 01, (2001), pp. 2-3. 27 H.Vredeman de Vries, Das erst Buch, gemacht aujf de zwey Colomnen Dorica und Ionica, (Antwerpen 1565), Introduction. This introduction is reproduced in P. S. Zimmermann, Die 'Architectura' von Hans Vredeman de Vries. Entwicklung der Renaissancearchitektur in Mitteleuropa, (Munich- Berlin, 2002), p. 137. 2 8 See B. Uppcnkamp, ' Roll- und Bcschlagwcrk in der 'Weserrenaissance', in: Baudekoration ais Bildungsanspruch, (Materialien zur Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte in Nord- und Westdeutschland, vol.5), (Marburg, 1993), pp. 43-95; B.

22

Uppenkamp, 'Der Einflui3 von Hans Vredeman de Vries auf Architektur und Kunstgewerbe', in: H. Borggrefe et al. (eds.), o.c., 2002, pp. 91 - 5. 29 E . Forssman, o.c., 1956, p. 89: ,,Über seinen eigenen Geschmack und den der Zeit, sowie dessen Verhaltnis zur Antike, war sich also de Vries vollkommen klar.Von MiJ3verstehen der Antike ist keine Rede, es handelte sich um bewui3te Umformung." 30 See P. Fuhring and G. Luij ten (eds.), o. c., 1997, part I, pp. 206-14.

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

7. Hans Vredeman de Vries, Series of small wells,Antwerp, c. 1573/74, pl. 14 (Kunstbibliothek Berlin, inv. 1964, 47)

that, in their decoration as stated in the Dutch title version Veelderley diverse Termen op de V ordene der Edificien, are developed from five column-orders. In parts, however, they show relatively free interpretations. ln the catalogue, rich with ideas, certainly every artist or patron could find a suggestion or usage according to his special need. Nevertheless, one is encouraged tolet the imagination play with the classical orders and forms.

Series ofWells A short time later, two series with designs of wells were published.Assumptions thatVredeman wanted to demonstrate his knowledge of mechanics, directly conflict with the uncornrnented-on plates. The first series from 1568, which Vredeman designed for Gerard de Jode, belongs - as the title Artis Perspectivae indicates - in the tradition of architectural perspective views from the early 1560's. 31 Wells or fountains are represented, which are attached to buildings or placed free in gardens. Technical details are entirely avoided. Instead, the attention is drawn to the play of water and the spectacular form created by the clash between Dutch grotesque ornamentation and classical architectural vocabulary.

3l

Ibid. , part!, pp. 242-52.

23

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

Six years later, around 1573/74, the second series was created for Philip Galle, which depicts only scoop- and draw-wells as single objects, or within an architectural environment: 32 these are mostly shown in an inner-city, therefore public situation, such as at an intersection or a plaza, sometimes also in a courtyard or on private architectural gardens. It deals mainly with the most simple forms of draw-wells, equipped with a wheel over which a chain or rope runs to a bucket. On only a few plates, Vredeman presents the complex construction of a well-house supported by columns in which an axle can be moved over a variety of gears with a hand pedal, pouring the water into a basin (see Fig. 7). Doubtless,Vredeman's primary interest in such abjects, which - like monuments - mould the image of architecture and city space, was to demonstrate with his designs a new formal invention. 33

The Treatise "Architectura"

While a large portion ofhis graphie work is made from series supplying only visual material,Vredeman added a commentary to the above-mentioned books of columns in the form of an introduction. In the end, the treatises for architecture and perspective represent a high point in Vredeman's publications: with powerfully expressive plates, in combination with descriptive texts, the basic practice-oriented representations ofboth disciplines should be made available to artists, craftsmen and interested laymen. The treatise Architectura appeared in 1577 first in a German edition, which was then followed, in the same year, by a French edition. A Dutch edition was only published in 1581. 34 The treatise was dedicated to Peter Ernst Count of Mansfeld: on the Serliana-motif of the title page, the arch is decorated with the obvious crest of the Count of Mansfeld. On the first page is a thorough dedication of the publisher, Gerard de Jode, dated March 24th, in which Peter Ernst Count of Mansfeld is cited as a special lover "zu den Khunsten von Edificien oder Bauvvng der Architectura". 35 The decisive reason to dedicate this book to him came, according to de Jode, from "Mayster Hanss Schille" who announced Count ofMansfeld's great enjoyment of the small book, dedicated by Cock, on perspective (i.e. the oval architectural perspective views for intarsia work). Therefore, De Jode wanted to dedicate also this book on Architecture of the five column orders to Mansfeld. De Jode hoped for some support from Count of Mansfeld, similar to that given to Cock, who had passed away. Here he refers to Hans van Schille, whose series of plates with models for fortifications, city facilities und citadels he published in 1573. 36 In the previously mentioned fonction as "Ingenieur vndt Geographus Con. Ma. teyt", Hans van Schille was in close contact with Count of Mansfeld, commander of the Emperor's troops in the Netherlands since 1574. At the same time, the dedication text mentions that van Schille was an eager spokesman forVredeman's work. As it turned out, on August 19th of the same year, V redeman was named assistant to van Schille. His first task in connection with this job was to realize a design for a new citadel inAntwerp, which he accomplished in five variations. 37 The Architecturais, therefore, the first work in whichVredeman demon-

32

See P. Fuhring and G. Luijten (eds.), o.c., part II, pp. 4254. 33 P. Lombaerde and Ch. van den Heuvel, 'Haus Vredeman de Vries und die technischen Künste', in: H. Borggrefe et al. (eds.), o.c., 2002, p.118. 34 P.S. Zimmermann, o.c., 2002, pp. 71-2. 35 Ibid., pp. 59-60.

24

36

Hans van Schille, Form und Weis zu bauwen, zimmern, machen und auff zu richten, mit Blochheusern, Graben und Wallen und auch sonsten zu stercken allerley wehrliche Vestung, Schlosser, Burgen und Stedt (Antwerp, 1573). 37 P. Lombaerde and Ch. van den Heuvel, I.e., 2002, p. 118. Cf. the contribution in this publication by Charles van den Heuvel.

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE --

-~f

..-"'

J7

;·~

..

~""' c.

·"-

8. Hans Vredeman de Vries, Architectura (French edition) ,Antwerp, 15 77, appendix (Bibliothèque Nationale Paris, Rés.V 368)

strates himself as an architect and military engineer willing to offer his services as such. He proves that he has fondamental theoretical knowledge and, at the same time, possesses a high level of expertise in the fields of construction and engineering. Sorne French editions of Architectura were supplied with appendices, also emphasizing his qualification as town planner: 38 on a folded plate made from two folio leaves,Vredeman shows an inner-city situation in perspective (see Fig. 8). Here Vredeman utilizes his experience as a perspective painter in order to contemplate the effect of architecture in the city space. The Architectura is based on a well-considered and logical, if rather complex, system. "Fur aile Bavvmaystren, Maurrer, Stainmetzlern, Schreineren, Bildtshneidren, vnd aile Liebhabernn der Architecturen", an understandable background of architecture should be created while, at the same time, offering a guideline for practical use. In the Architectura Vredeman makes use of various predecessors in the field of architecture theory, especially Serlio and his Book IV from 1537. At first, Vredeman introduces the five orders on an initial plate.39 In this way, the shortcomings of his own books of columns are removed, so that the columns with pedestal and en tablature here are visible in their entirety (see Fig. 9). Although Vredernan bases bis use of onlers on the Serlian canon, he transforms each order, creating variations in ascending proportion. In addition, be applies increasing ornamentation to the columns. Beyond the orders, a differentiated continuum is created.With this modification, without precedent in architectural theory,Vredeman wants to react to the challenges of practice: the columns should, on the one hand, do justice to the usages of the respective artists in different kinds of crafts, concrete tasks and materials while, on the other, answering each special task according toits special need. In addition to the descriptions thatVredeman makes in bis text and image scales of proportion, he presents more measuring chains, from which the single elements of order in their height relationship can be understood. 40

38

P.S. Zimmermann, o.c., 2002, pp. 67-68. Ibid., pp. 90-95; Reprint, pp. 208, 213, 220, 224, 230. 40 Thus Vredeman assumes that the predesign phase in practice begins with the choice of a certain order. For the height available on a building, the given relation between entabla-

39

ture, columns and pedestals, corresponding to the measurem ent scales was reachable in a first step. In a second step, the artist had to decide for one of the five variations, depending on the demands of the usage, and then bring the columns in to proportion accordingly.

25

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

9. Hans Vredeman de Vries, Architectura, Antwerp, 1577, fo. 13 (Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, Sign. Uf 2° 66)

10. HansVredeman de Vries, Architectura, Antwerp, 1577, fo. 14 (Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, Sign. Uf 2° 66)

Further demonstrated examples of usage helped enliven the abstract column lesson. 41 The architectural designs, which exemplify their respective column order, range from works of fortification and engineering and public functional constructions for the Tuschana, to private dwellings and palaces, to Doric and Ionie (see Fig. 10), ail the way to extraordinary fashionable residences, town halls and churches, to Corinthia. This wide spectrum of building designs should be redefined in a specifically Dutch way. Thus, the main theme of the Treatise is already contained in Vredeman's title: Architectura oder Bauung der Antiquen aus dem Vitruvius, woelches sein funff Colummen Orden, dar auss mann aile Landts gebreuch vonn Bauuen zu accomodieren.What V redeman means here exactly, he writes in various forms in his text and illustrates it with the plates: Due to the climate and socio-economic conditions, the Netherlands have an idiosyncratic architectural tradition. Hence, V redeman recommends buildings over several staries in height and the use of windows with transoms to maxirnize light. When creating the façades Vredeman uses, in addition to the column orders and corresponding decoration, his own formal inventions like the strapwork. This ornament can be found mainly on the typical Dutch gables.

41

P.S. Zimmermann, o. c. ,2002, pp. 96-114; Reprint, pp. 208-

30.

26

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

In the presentation and explanation of his designs, V redeman supplies the reader and user with instructions for their practical application. For the different building types, he generally presents an orthogonal projection and a plan of the ground floor in two variations. The designs often include units of scale in Antwerp feet, making it possible to grasp the complete height, as well as the dimension of floors and single dividing elements. The materiality of the building fronts is clearly and thoroughly represented in plates and defined in text.With the floor plans - even when they are only partially depicted - he challenges the reader and user to rethink the entire building organism. He notes rooms of varying size and fonction, path connections as well as stairs, and gives general rules for the proportioning of doors and windows. Like the additionally supplied designs of fi.replaces show,Vredeman suggests a general formal concept for exterior and interior. A unified character that corresponds to the style of a particular building type should be achieved. The design suggestions should then be fitted to the respective circumstances of the building by the "ingeneuse" and experienced architect. One can decide for oneself what to do with the construction and the building realization. Hence,Vredeman tries, with this treatise, to find a middle road between the offering of need-oriented samples and the challenge to find independent concepts.

Series of Garden Designs Before Vredeman published, at the end of his life's work, a second treatise dedicated to perspective, two series on garden designs appeared in 1583 and 1587.Vredeman places the first comprehensive series, Hortorum Viridariorumque, in connection with Architectura by labeling the designs as column orders. 42 Various arrangements of paths are shown in perspective, mostly in the form oflabyrinths. Often the gardens are framed by traces of buildings in the background. Beginning with simple, often angular formations reminiscent of rustic ornamentation for the Doric, the garden designs incorporate round and curved elements for the Ionie, including abstracted scrolls (see. Fig. 11). The designs reach their peak in the complicated Corinthian forms, with strongly emphasized trellis-work gangways and wells. Though the series contains no comments, one assumes that Vredeman wants to inspire garden designs that are created in the same decorative style as their respective building types. This corresponds to the Architectura, which demands uniformity of ail parts.

The Treatise "Perspective" After not publishing for a longer period of time, the two parts of Perspective, Vredeman's last independent textbook, appeared in 1604 and 1605. 43 The book was dedicated to Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau and the magistrate ofLeeuwarden,Vredeman's birthplace.Also in this case, the dedication seemed connected with Vredeman's own interests, as Prince Maurits had supportedVredeman's application for the position of professor in Perspective, Engineering and Architecture at the University ofLeiden in 1604. 44

42 P. Fuhring and G. LuUten (eds.), o.c., 2002, part II, pp. 12636. 43

The title of the second part makes reference to the previous part and is shorter: Das ander They! der hochberhvemten Khvnst, Der Perspectiven, In sich haltend viel trefflicher Lehren, vnd sehr nutzbarliche argumenten mit viel schone herrliche Edifitien, vnnd Gebewden der se/ben Architectur enviesen, sehr artlich

in kupffer gestochen, mit anzeigenden lineamenten sampt dem Fundament der selben, in einer khürtzen beschreibung veifasset, vnnd angedeütet, allen verstendigen Liebhabren der selben khunst sich darinnen zu uben zu dienstlichen wolgefallen ans liecht gebracht, vnnd Inventirt, durch Joan Friedman Friesen. 44 Vredeman's application was, however, rejected by the UniYersity. See P.S. Zimmermann, o.c., 2002, pp. 54, 194.

27

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

ION ICA

11. Hans Vredeman de Vries, Hortorum Viridariorumque, Antwerp, 1583, pl. 11 (Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, Uf 4° 3 (4))

The comprehensive title of the first part, which lists in detail the content of the book, instructions for its possible uses and an exact description of the intended readership, is called in German: ' Perspective Das ist Die weitberuembte Khunst, eines scheinenden in oder durchsehenden augengesichts Puncten, aujf vnd an ebenstehender Wandt vnd Mauren, Tajfelen oder gespannenen Tuech, in welchem anzuschewen sien mogen die gebewde der Kirchen, Tempeln, Pallasten, Saalen, Zimmern, Gemiichs, Khammeren, Gelleregen, Pliitze, Gange, Giirten, Miirckte vnd GajJen, aujf die alte vnd newe manier, vnd mehe dergleichen gestalt nujJen alhie furgestelt, alles aujf seine eigene fundamental Linien, vnd das fundament der se/ben aigentlich aujJgelegt mit dere selben artlichen beschreibung. Allen Mahlern, Kupjferstechern, Bildthawern, Goldtschmiden, der Architectvr Liebhabern, Steinhawern, Zimmerleuten, Schreinwergkern, vnd sonsten allen Khunstlern vnd Ingenivren zu ihrem Stvdiren sehr angenehm lieblich vnd nutzbar. Ans licht bracht durch Johan Vredman Frijse'. In his introductory description,Vredeman emphasizes - with reference to his nine books on the art of perspective - that this textbook is a summary of ail these earlier series. 45 This is then rein-

45

Hans Vredeman de Vries, Perspective, part I, lntroductiun: ,,wiewoll ich vor diesem [Dürer] woll in die neün buecher oder abtheilungen der selber Perspective khunst inventirt vnd durch Hieronymus Cock, Gerardt de Jode, Philippe

28

Galle vnd Peter Baltens in khupferstich hab aui3gehen lassen, so ist gleichwoll unter allen dem selbigen khein bericht von der khunst der Perspective." With the nine books, the following titles were certainly meant: 1. Scenographiae (1560) -

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

12. Hans Vredeman de Vries, Persp ective, part I, Lei den, 1615 (new edition of the first issue in Latin, 1604) , pl. 25 (Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, Ug 4° 67)

forced by a statement in his autobiographical pocm, placcd opposite his portrait, in which Vredeman stresses his forty years of practice in the field of" optica". 46 H ere he wants to deliver an explanation of perspective, the likes of which has never before been offered by a Dutchman in the N etherlands. In the text,Vredeman goes on to say that the perspective constructions shown have been made, based on five helping lines: the foot-line at the bottom, the vertical or perpendicular line and the "orizon", as well as the diagonal and parallel lines, communicating between the foot-line and the" orizon". Most of the plates of the first part deal with the "plates for explanation" 47 : First for geometric bodies and simple, rather compact buildings, then for increasingly complex spatial structures,Vredeman demonstrates perspective constructions, which are explained in short texts (see Fig. 12).At last, single "plates for illustration" follow, which show the practical uses of given principles. 48 The second volume is less systematically structured. Teaching examples and examples for practical usage are shown here, sicle by

published by Hieronymus Cock; 2. Oval architectural perspective views for intarsia work (1560/62) - Hieronymus Cock; 3. Small architectural perspective views (1562) Hieronymus Cock; 4. Artis perspectivae (1568) - Gerard de Jode; 5. Series of small wells (1573174) - Philip Galle; 6. Theatrum Vitae Humanae (1577) - Peter Baltens; 7. Daniel's history as a chapter within the Thesaurus Veteris (1579) - Gerard deJode; 8. Hortorum (1583) - Philip Gallejust as 9. Series

of garden designs (1587) - Philip Galle. H ans Vredeman de Vries, Perspective, part I, Portrait with comment to the reader. Illustrated in P.S. Zimmermann, o.c., 2002,p. 14. 47 For a characteristic of the plates see H. Mielke, o.c., 1967, p. 134. 48 See P Fuhring and G. Luijten (eds.), o.c., 1997, part II, pp. 180-209. 46

29

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

si de, and the text has a rather descriptive character. 49 This prompted Hans Mielke to express the presumption that V redeman, who was nearly eighty years old by that time, had lost his energy to continue looking after his publications. 50

Conclusion Hans Vredeman de Vries, as designer of illustrated publications, dealt with a variety of themes. The series, whose themes were at the beginning certainly determined by the publishers, and which, at first glance, looked like designs created by chance 51 , came to be, after the 1560's, increasingly under the artist's own control. It seems correct to assume that for Vredeman, over time, it became possible to present, in the form of single publications, a kind of compendium on decorations, architecture and perspective. Later books often refer to previous books and allow for a recognizable, continuous orientation toward a target: for ail conceivable cases of artistic practice, new formal principles were to be circulated, in which the classical formal repertoire merged with the Northern traditions. Vredeman addresses a wide spectrum of artists and artisans. Moreover, he speaks again and again to the "lovers of the arts", who collected such prints for their own enjoyment, and who could also, as patrons, contribute to the realization of the proposed ideas. Addressing the reader in this way made it clear that a fondamental commitment to practical application in the field of publication was being aimed at. Therefore, all books could be seen, in some sense, as manuals for practical application. However, under no circumstances were these books to serve merely as pattern books, limited to the fonction of copies. Vredeman stresses often that he does not want to simply offer rigid and unmodified models. Artists and laymen alike should learn from the stimulating ideas and suggestions on offer. On the basis of these suggestions and principles, the readers are challenged to develop their own solutions for their respective tasks.Vredeman expected from his readers an understanding of the time, combined with a professional attitude. In the artistic and architectural fields, the influence ofVredeman's books is clcarly visible. Howcver it is difficult to find evidence of his work which has actually been rcalized. 52 The publications ofVredeman are Dutch in character. Published in the Netherlands, and mostly in Antwerp, the books were meant for distribution well beyond the borders of the country, as the multi-lingual titles and editions show. The intention was to bring the thinking and formal material of antiquity and the Italian Renaissance into harmony with local conditions and preferences.Vredeman was familiar with the basic prototypes not from his own experience, but indirectly from books and graphie works. Perhaps it was this situation which prompted him to undertake a free interpretation of imported ideals.The clearly emphasized regional focus in his works - regardless of the themes to which they were dedicated - secured a wide interest for his publications in the lands of the North. 53 V redeman was not the first artist who demonstrated a Dutch version of the Renaissance. However, no contemporary equaled him in the breadth and variety ofhis achievement.

49

Ibid., part II, pp. 213-25.

so H. Mielke, o.c., 1967, pp. 134-5. 51

E. Forssman, o.c., 1956, pp. 89-90. See e.g. E. Forssman, 'Die Bedeutung Vitruvs und der Architekturtheorie für die Baukunst der Weserrenaissance', 52

30

in: G. U. GroBmann (ed.), Renaissance in Nord- und Mitteleuropa I, (Munich~ Berlin, 1990), pp. 15-6. 53 A. Ti:innesmann, 'Architektur', in: D. Arasse and A. Ti:innesmann (eds.), Der europiiische 1\!Ianierismus: 1520-1610, (Munich, 1997), p.197.

THE RELATION TO PRACTICE

V redeman was the protagonist of a new formal language that affected the entire field of artistic creation. By addressing so many artists and artisans in his publications, Vredeman made sure that each could take what he needed, according to his professional point of view. For example, the column books and the treatise on architecture would serve the needs primarily of the architectural designs. Concerning the formation of interior spaces, Vredeman supplied additional instructions for fireplace designs and for the series with carpentry works. Concerning the formation of exterior spaces, the garden and well designs were meant as elements of completion.Accordingly, the painters could study general explanations in the treatise on perspective, as well as the prints of architectural perspective views in order to gain concrete and stimulating ideas. The publications were arranged so that they, being compatible with one another, could achieve the highest possible eftèct. Vredeman wanted not only to introduce a Renaissance ornamental aesthetic 54 , but, rather, to propagate compatible concepts in each respective discipline. With this all-encompassing, reality-grounded, practice-oriented principle,Vredeman's illustrated publications touched the nerve ofhis time and contributed decisively to the spread of a Dutch Renaissance north of the Alps.

54

This is assumed by various authors: See e.g. H. Mielke, 'Hans Vredeman de Vries', in FünfArchitekten aus fünf]ahrhun-

derten (Berlin, 1976), p. 6 or R. Baarsen, I.e., 144, (2002), p. 772.

31

THEORY AND EXAMPLE INVREDEMAN DEVRrns's ARCHITECTURA (1577). INTENTIONS BETWEEN A MODERN TREATISE AND A PRACTICAL MO DEL BOOK

Dieter A. Nuytten

Introduction In 1577 Gerard de Jode published Architectura Oder Bauung aufs dem Vitruuius .. ., at first sight yet another graphie work of the very productive and multitalented artist Vredeman de V ries, who already published many series of engravings on various aspects of arts. But the 1577 Architectura was different from his other graphie works, since it had text. 1 In her contribution to the 1981 colloquium Les Traités d'Architecture de la Renaissance, Van de Winckel concludes in this context that the art ofVredeman probably had not found its rightful place in architectural theory and promised "to dedicate a study on this artist unveiling the diversity of his talents". 2 This promise demonstrated clearly how, not long ago, little was known on the actual content ofVredeman's books and engravings. Since though, a lot has changed. In 1997, Fuhring inventoried his complete graphie work. 3 The graphie work ofVredeman was seen since the 19th century as a collection of ornamental pictures. 4 Three monographs explored Vredeman's 1577 treatise Architectura demonstrating otherwise, recognising it as a structured architectural treatise and placing it in the context of a larger Serlian tradition. 5 Zimmermann's excellent research put Architectura in a German context and proved its irnportance for the reception of the Renaissance in Central Europe. 6 Krieger studied the system of the ornamentation used on the five column orders. 7 My own work analysed the organisation of the Architectura in relation to contemporary published treatises, looked at its 'architectural factor' and the way the illustrations were drawn upon building and design practices in the 16th_century Low Countries. 8 Vredeman's art was recently the theme of exhibitions and symposia where the importance of his influence on a European scale was underlined. 9

1D. Nuytten, 'Hans Vredeman de Vries' ,,Architectura Oder Bauung der Antiquen aufs dem Vitruuius, ... ''-Analyse en evaluatie van een architekturaal voorbeeldenboek van de 16de eeuw, 2 vols. (unpublished dissertation, University ofLeuven), 1994, vol.1, pp. 2-4 and p.38; P.S. Zimmermann, 'Hans Vredeman de Vries - ein uomo universale"?', Bulletin KNOB, 100, 1, (2001), p.5: 'Die Architectura von 1577 nimmt innerhalb des gesamten druckgraphischen Werkes von Vredeman inscifern eine Sonderstellung ein, ais hier ein ausführlicher erlduternder Text gleichwertig neben den Tafeln steht. Allein die "Perspective" aus den ]ahren 1604105 ist in ihrem "systematisch-lehrheften Charakter" vergleichbar.' 2 M. Van de Winckel, 'HansVredeman de Vries', in:J. Guillaume (ed.) Les Traités d'Architecture de la Renaissance-Actes du colloque de Tours 1981, (Paris, 1988), pp. 454-8. 3 P. Fuhring and G. Luijten (eds.), Vredeman de Vries, ( Hollstein's Dutch & Flemisch Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts 1450-1700, vols. XLVI-XLVII), (Rotterdam, 1997). 4 C. Heuer, 'Between the Histories of Art and Architecture - Critical Reception of Hans Vredeman de Vries', Bulletin KNOB, 100, 1, (2001), pp. 27-40. 5 D. Nuytten, o.c., 1994; B.J.J. Krieger, Hiërarchie der ornamenten? De ontmoeting van het classicisme met de rolwerkcar-

touche in de Architectura (1577) van Hans Vredeman de Vries, (dissertation, University of Amsterdam, 2000); P.S. Zimmermann, Die Architectura von Hans Vredeman de Vries Entwicklung der Renaissancearchitektur in Mitteleuropa, (Munich, 2002). 6 P. Zimmermann, o.c., 2002; Id., 'De Architectura van Hans Vredeman de Vries en het vitruvianisme', in: H. Borggrefe et al. (eds.), Tussen Stadspaleizen en Luchtkastelen - Hans Vredeman de Vries en de Renaissance (Ghent, 2002), pp. 71-80; Id., 'Hans Vredeman de Vries und die Folgen in der Architekturlehre', in: Lemgo-symposiumbook (forthcoming). 7 B.J.J. Krieger, "'Tis een Excellente Conste, dwelk sijnen me ester laudeert" - Ornament, orde en hiërarchie in de 'Architectura' van Hans Vredeman de Vries', Kunstlicht, 213, (2001), pp.47-51. 8 C. Heuer, I.e., 2001, pp. 27-40: p.35. K. De Jonge, 'Vitruvius, Alberti and Serlio: Architectural Treatises in the Low Countries 1530-1620', in: V Hart and P. Hicks (eds.), Paper Palaces - The Rise of the Renaissance Architectural Treatise (London, 1998),pp.281-96. 9 H. Borggrefe et al. (eds.), o.c., 2002; exhibitions in SchloJ3 Brake (Lemgo, Germany) and in KMSK (Antwerp, Belgium).

33

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

Lombaerde made a close analysis ofboth Vredeman's technical capacities and practice as a military engineer and of the perspective method he used in his engravings and cityscapes. 10 Many made essential contributions to the study, reception and understanding of Vredeman's graphie work in general and his 1577 Architectura in particular and the latter seems to be completely and thoroughly studied. Seen from a somewhat different angle though, and paying more attention to whatVredeman actually writes on one hand and what he shows on the other, as well as to the differences between both, his book unveils a distinct ambiguity and even an explicit dual concept placing it not entirely in line with the Vitruvian nor Serlian tradition of column order books. 11

The nature of Architectura The structure of Architectura. Vredeman's 1577 Architecturais divided into five chapters, one for each column order. Each chapter contains plates (engravings) and text, which comments on what is depicted on the plates. In total, there are 24 plates, including the front page and 9 pages of text. The first plate of each chapter presents the column order itself in five different alternatives of decoration. Then corne some plates with examples of the application of the order. In case of the Tuscan order, these are mostly engineering applications (strongholds, fortifications, bridges, ... ) whilst under the Doric, Ionie and Corinthian order chimney pieces and mainly, examples of building façades are presented: 9 for the Doric order, 6 for the Ionie and 8 for the Corinthian (there are no façades under the Composite order). These façade designs form the core of the book.All façades are shown frontally.An impression of depth is created by slightly shadowing some elements in the façades (columns, windows, do ors, ... ) . Sorne features are shown in a (distorted) perspective to accentuate even more the volumetric aspect of the design. This is for instance, the case in the examples of towers, but the vanishing lines do not converge. It is important to notice that the façades are represented two by two and only by half.This seems to be a new representation technique: Serlio and du Cerceau, two sourcesVredeman mentions in his text, did not use it. The façades are accompanied by a small ground plan, which mostly only shows the façade wall itselfbut occasionally also depicts the spaces bchind the screen of the façade giving important additional information about the programme and fonction of the building. Serlio's Book IV. The first translations of Vitruvius northerly of the Alps appeared around the middle of the 16th century.The very first was the Dutch translation ofan expert ofVitruvius titled Die Inventie der Colommen by Pieter Coecke van Aelst (Antwerp 1539). The first Vitruvius in German was published in 1548 (Walter Rivius, Nuremberg) after earlier attempts (1543, Hans Beham). French was served in 1547 by the translation ofJean Martin. 12 The greatest influence in the field of architectural theory did not corne from these publications but from the contemporary books of Sebastiano Serlio (0 Bologna 1475 - tFontainebleau 1554) and mainly from his fourth book Regola generali di Architettura sopra le cinque maniere de gli edifici, published in 153 7 in Venice. This book is an almost

10 P Lombaerde and Ch. van den Heuvel, 'Hans Vredeman de Vries en de technische kunsten', in: H. Borggrefe et al. (eds.), o.c., 2002, pp. 117-26; P Lombaerde, 'New Techniques for representing the Object: Hans Vredeman de Vries and Hans van Schille', in: Lemgo - Symposiumbook (forthcoming). 11 De Jonge wrote on this matter: "Nuytten (1994, 75-7) however has shown that the commentory accompanying façades, bridges and fortifications is more specifically directed to the 'architect' and sometimes even the proprietor, than

34

was the part of the five Orders. In the latter, construction schemes for columns and other details of the Orders have been omitted altogether, contrary to Coecke's Die Inventie, Serlio's Book IV, or for that matter, Hans Blums' Zürich Siiulenbuch of 1550 which had been available in Antwerp in a Flemish edition by Hans Lieferinck since 1572". See K. De Jonge, 1.c., 1998, pp. 281-96, p.288 12 H.-W Kruft, Geschichte der Architecturtheorie- Von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, (Munich, 1985), pp.187-92.

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

autonomous volume and treats of the classical column orders as well as of examples of their applications (façades, frames for windows and do ors, chimneypieces ... ). Only two years la ter, in 1539, the same Pieter Coecke translated it into Dutch. It is significant that, although the two Dutch translations were published in the same year, the brief Vitruvius edition was never reprinted due to the overshadowing success of Serlio's translation. In 1549 a second edition was published with small alterations. Coecke took on a French translation, published resp. in 1541 and 1543, th us three years before Serlio published his own French translation, which certainly did not please the latter. In the colophon of his first and second book, Serlio threatened with a lawsuit: "Et s'ilz le sont a mon desceu, ie les feray saisir & mectre en mains de iustice, par vertu de mon privilege du Roy". 13 The Dutch version of Serlio 's third book, which presents examples of antique monuments as well as contemporary Italian Renaissance buildings appeared in 1546. After having edited further French editions Coecke translated Serlio's books I (on geometry), II (on perspective) and V (on Antique temples and Christian churches) which ail appeared in 1553, thus after his death in 1550.These later books do not have the same rigid structure and methodology as the fourth book. They are either mathematical-geometrical essays following Vitruvius (books I and II) or compilations ofloose examples (books III and V). By the time Vredeman cornmenced his vast work, ail five of Serlio's books on architecture were available in a Dutch translation: 1. "Den eersten boeck van A.rchitecturen Sebastiani Serlii / treatiseerende van Geometrye. Ouergesedt wten Italiaensche in nederlandts / duer Peeter Coecke van A.elst doen ter tijt Schildere der K. Maiesteyt" (Antwerp 1553) Il. "Den tweeden boeck van A.rchitecturen Sebastianii Serlii / treatiseerende van Perspectyven / dat is / het insien duer t vercorten. Overgesedt ... " (Antwerp 1553) III. "Die aldervermaertste Antique edificien va~ temple~/ theatre~ / amphitheatre~/ therme~! obilisce~ / brugge~ /arche~ triw--phal. ec. bescreue~ eii gefigureert met haren gronde~eii mate~ oock de plaetseii daerse staen / eii wiese dede make~." (Antwerp 1546) IV. "Generale reglen der A.rchitecturen op de vyve manieren van edificien, te vveten thuscana, dorica, ionica, corinthia, ende composita metden exemplen der antiqviteiten die int meeste deel concorderen metde leeringhe van Vitrvvio." (Antwerp 1539) V. "Den vijfsten boeck van A.rchitecturen Sebastianii Serlii / inden welcken van diuersche formen der Templen getreatiseeert wordt / nae de maniere vanden A.ntijken / ende oock dienende voer de kerstenen. Oue1gesedt ... (Antwerp 1553) Van Mander narra tes that V redeman, with the money he earned working on the decoration of the triumphal gates of the Joyful Entry of 1549, travelled to Friesland: "en wel naar Callum, waar hij, terwijl hij een altaarstuk in olieveif schilderde, een schrijnwerker leerde kennen die de boeken bezat van Serlio ofVitruvius (sic) in de uitgave van Pieter Koeck. Vries werkte vol ijver nacht en dag am deze boeken, zoowel de groote ais het kleine, over te schrijven" ("to Collum, where he, whilst painting an altarpiece in oil paint, met a joiner who owned the books ofSerlio orVitruvius in the edition ofPieter Koeck.Vries worked day and night to transcribe these books, the large as well as the small." With 'the large' Van Mander probably means the Serlio IV translation, whilst 'the small' would be the Vitruvius edition. That the books of Pieter Coecke were even to be found in the atelier of a joiner in the far North, is a token oftheir popularity and importance to the artisan. Van Mander names Vitruvius and Serlio as one as if there was no difference between them. Vredeman does the same in

13

H. De la Fontaine Verwey, Humanisten, dwepers en rebellen in de 16de eeuw, (Amsterdam, 1975).

35

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

many places in the text of his Architectura. On one occasion he even writes: "Vitruuius vierde bock / Gedruckt bij Peeter van Aelst" ("Vitruvius fourth book / printed by Peter of Aelst") obviously meaning Serlio 's fourth book. Se en from the North side of the Alps, Vitruvius and Serlio were considered as exponents of one and same concept. But Van Mander's story more importantly proves that Vredeman has indeed studied both books. V redeman refers frequently to Serlio 's fourth book, further called here 'Serlio IV'. The transPieter Coecke was a major step in the architectural development of the 16th century in the by lation Low Countries. For many artists who didn't travel to Italy it was the most direct source to the architecture 'in the Italian way'. The influence on written architecture was probably for the large majority oflocal architects in the North much greater than those ofbuilt examples by Italian architects, in such a way that the latter could as well not have built at all. 14 After the front page, a preface by Coecke, an ode of Cornelis Graphaeus and the - translated - preface by Serlio in which he announces the future parts ofhis treatise, the book continues with five chapters on each of the five column orders.The chapters on the orders follow systematically the same scheme. First there is a part on the order itself, treating its symbolism, the composition, the proportions, ... This is followed by a second part containing some examples of the practical use of the order (elements for windows, do ors, portals, façades of buildings,) and finally two chimneypieces (the first in the thickness of the wall, the second placed in front of the wall). This gives the following scheme for the 'order-part' of Serlio IV: 1. On the order itself (theoretical): 1a. The colurnn itself (symbolism, composition, terminology, proportions, formation ofbasis, capital and frieze); lb. Examples ofloose parts of the order (capitals, basis, comice,) from antique monuments. Serlio remarks he noticed a big difference between the theory ofVitruvius (la.) and the still existing antique monuments; 2. The use of the order (practical): 2a. A collection of examples (temples, doors, windows, gates, portals,) per order; 2b. Façade designs (elevation and plan of the façade wall), only with the Doric, Ionie and Corinthian order; 2c. Two chimneypieces per order; At the end of the book follow four more chapters that leave the Vitruvian school of thought and concentrate on artisan designs (doorframes, ceiling decoration, ... ) . Although Vredeman's Architecturais notas elaborate and less systematic, its content has the same dual structure as the order-part ofSerlio IV First there is one plate with explicative text on the order, of which each time five different variations are shown. This is followed by examples of use in practice. Vredeman does not explain the theory or symbolism of the orders. Regarding the composing elements of the column he refers to other books like Serlio IV Apart from some chimneypieces, his examples mainly treat of façades. On this level,Vredeman's Architecturais more elaborate than Serlio IV but just like the latter, it only presents building façades under the Doric, Ionie and Corinthian order. The Tuscan order stresses on engineering works like bridges, which is absent in Serlio IV Using the same scheme as above, the results are:

14

E. Forssman, Saule und Ornament - Studien zum Problem des Manierismus in den nordischen Sdulenbüchem und Vorlagebldttern des 16. Und 17.]h., (Stockholm, 1956),p.29.

36

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

1. On the order itself: la. A plate with 5 variations and a short text (referring to "Vitruvius en meer andere meesters": Vitruvius and more other masters) lb. / (Nil) 2. The use of the order (practical): 2a. / (Nil) 2b. Façade designs (main part of the book) 2c. Under Dorica and Ionica,Vredeman presents chimneys, but less systematically than Serlio IV. In his text,Vredeman refers to "mijn groote Columneboeck" ("my big column book") 15 , meaning his two double series on columns Dorica-Ionica and Corinthia-Compositia from 1565. 16 There he presents in 'close-up' the many decoration possibilities of the different composing parts of the order (see Figs.1, 2). More than Serlio IV, Vredeman's Architectura relies mainly on the plates: where Serlio gives a description of the dimensions,Vredeman refers to the plates on which often a scale division line is presented.17

The column books. Travelling to Italy to get directly familiar with the new formal language of Renaissance that started to filter through in the Low Countries during the first decade of the century was a great exception for a large number of artisans and traditional building masters from the north. T he art of printing played an important role in satisfying the curiosity of these local craftsmen, towards the ideas and forms from the Italian Renaissance that pleased ever more importantly their commissioners. The books were also a medium and forum in the development of a local Renaissance style.Vredeman himself most probably never set foot on Italian soil and acquired large part ofhis knowledge of the new

15 H.Vredeman de Vries, ARCHITECTURA Oder Bauung der Antiquen aufs dem Vitruuius .. . (Antwerp, 1581, 1577 1), Dorica 7, r.27 and Composita 23, r.48-49 16 In Composita 23, Vredeman mentions the publisher of "mijn groote Columneboeck", Hieronymus Cock who indeed was the publisher ofboth series Dorica-Ionica and CorinthiaCompositia. The series ARCHITECTURA 3° Stuck. DE OORDflNTVSCHANA ... appeared later (1578) , after the first publication of Architectura (1577). 17 As these scale lines do not seem to use one and the same basic measure, their practical use seems limited.

~ !9; ~

•

Dotv~

1

;·-~~;=1=:~ '

·

•.

·, ,:

r;:;· ;:

_-:

1. Engraving "C" w ith Doric entablature from Vredeman de Vries, Das erst Bvch, Gemacht avff De Zvvey Colommen Dorica und Ionica, (Antwerp, 1565)

2. Engraving "B" with Ionie and Doric column shaft from Hans Vredeman de Vries, Das erst Bvch, Gemacht avjf De Zvvey Colommen Dorica und Ionica, (Antwerp, 1565)

37

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

formal language, like many northern artists, via books and engravings. 18 He used the same medium to present his own contribution to northern Renaissance. For a long time the inventor and the executor have been either united in the same person or worked closely together in the atelier. Knowledge was mainly directly transferred frorn rnaster to pupil (like within the large, secure atmosphere of the mediaeval fabric lodge, where large collections of plans and copies of existing buildings were kept) or via travelling and trading contacts. In the 15th century this tradition altered: the woodcut and printing allowed knowledge to multiply and spread outside the atelier or lodge. Serlio IV had a major impulse on the genesis of the many Renaissance model books, especially in the North, sin ce he was the first to publish a treatise in which Renaissance architecture was presented mainly through illustrations. He was also the first to include consistently the theory of the five column orders, with distinctive colurnns heights and corresponding pedestals. Those were two important reasons why his book appealed to a large public of craftsmen interested in the classical style. The new Renaissance forms were looked upon differently in the North than in Italy where antique monuments were visibly present. In the North they were considered as a new foreign (Italian) fashion, which had to be learnt, preferably through illustrated (analphabetism!) books. Serlio's fourth book was rapidly translated into Dutch and published in the Low Countries with great success. Since it appcarcd as an indcpcndcnt volume, separately from the other volumes -not yet published-ofhis ambitious treatise, Serlio's Book IV was the first example of the reduction ofVitruvius architectural theory to a more narrow description of column orders. By doing this, Serlio lies at the source of a new genre: the column book. The genre of column books has exclusively the column order as a subject, independent of any architectural or other context, although they were often published under the ambitious title "Architectura" making present day readers expect more. One of the best-known column books is probably Vignola's Regola generale dell'cinque ordini d' architettura. But Hans Blum's book was one of the first: it appeared in Latin in 1550 and in German in 1555. Blum's works were reprinted several times and translated into French, English and Dutch. By treating only the five orders and their proportions, Blum had created the basic type for many northern column books. It was popular at its time and Vredeman also refers to it for the dimensions of the column elements, to which he pays only little attention:

"Watter voor Cornissen, Lysten vindtmen de particuliere maten in Vitruuius ... ! eft Hans Bloem 19 / ... " (" concerning comices, mouldings, ... / one finds the specific dimensions in Vitruvius [again obviously Serlio IV is meant since Vitruvius did not mention dimensions] or Hans Blum"). 1 •••

/

Column books generally do not limit themselves to built architecture, but also treat of a large range of artistic crafts,just like their late Gothie predecessors did: cabinetmakers, sculptors, stained glass artists, stonemasons, even the painters of architectural backgrounds ( "metselrijen ").The column book is thus a specific example of the genre of the model books. They existed for almost any of the applied arts: vases, furniture, and goldsmiths trade ... even for the design of the front page of model books there existed specific model books! New artistic forms and developments spread swiftly in specific environments, like Antwerp. Thanks to the many pattern books easily available on the market, an.y craftsman had only, in a way of speaking, to follow the example in the books. But this was not seen as a mere imitation of a printed model. It was important to 'choose' the right elements and to 'combine' them appropriately.This is of course nota true artistic 'creation', originating from an individual and personal

18 Of course books were uot his sole source ofinformation: in the Low Countries an important practice on Renaissance architecture was already present, in built architecture (the Castle of Breda, the work ofJacques Dubroeucq) as well as

38

non-built (stained glass windows, church furniture). 19 H.Vredeman de Vries, ARCHITECTURA Oder Bauung der Antiquen aufs dem Vitruuius ... (Antwerp, 1581, 1577 1), Dorica 7, r.26.

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

idea. It was more a process of following and combining - with some creativity - the existing models and motifs represented in engravings to make a new artistic work that met the set goal. There was even a specific word to name this process: "inventie" ("invention").A stonemason making a portal for example would have operated as follows: 1° First he had to capture the required characteristics of the portal: the portal for a chapel has for example other characteristics than one for a fortification. 2° Then he decided, according to these characteristics, which of the five column orders was most appropriate.With the help of example books he constructed the 'architectural framework' of the whole. 3° This architectural phase was followed by an at least as important phase: the decoration.When needed, the craftsman could enhance considerably the prestige of the portal by choosing the right decoration. Hereto he had at his disposal specific example books representing the possible decorative motifs for each column order. This decoration could give the order more appeal but could also remain neutral. The "invention" was a meaningful combination of models appropriately chosen for the purpose.According to Forssman, even an acknowledged artist like Cornelis Floris did not escape this modus operandi. 20 In 1548 his first series of designs on vases were published followed by a series on masks later in the year. Following, series on grotesques appeared in 1554, 1556 and 1557. In 1557 followed a series on tombs.At the same timeVredeman started his impressive work of engravings. In 1555 appeared two series on cartouches, completed in the following years with series on grotesques and new series on cartouches. From 1560 onwards appeared on the market his first series on perspective engravings Scenographiae and examples of fountains, vases and tombs. In 1565 two series on the decoration of the column orders and a series on thermae and caryatides were published. Looking at its title,Vredeman's Architecturais announced as an example book, praising itself to of artists and craftsmen: variety a wide "ARCHITECTURA Oder Bauung der Antiquen aufç dem Vitruuius, ... , dienstlich fur alle Bawmaystren Maurer, Stainmetzlen, Schreineren Bildtshneidren, und aile Liebhabernn der Architecturen

" ("ARCHITECTURA or building of the Antiques following Vitruvius ... useful for all building masters, masons, stonemasons,joiners, sculptors, and all lovers of architecture(s) ") Vredeman's book addresses itself not only to the erudite architecture scholar but also to the craftsman since it is foremost a book of illustrations. Other important indications are the fact that the book appeared first in popular languages and only later in Latin and that the type ofletter used in the 1581 reprint was the traditional Brabantine, i.e. Gothie letter.The Roman letter was indeed an illegible novelty for large part of the non-illiterates. Proof of the importance of the type ofletter is the fact that Coecke published the second edition ofhis Serlio IV translation (in 1549 ten years after the first version) in this traditional letter whereas the first version used the Roman letter. Coecke even justifies this change with the better legibility of the traditional Gothie letter21 . His translation was indeed meant to serve the craftsmen: in his introductory hymn the publisher Cornelis Graphaeus urges them to buy the book:

20 21

E. Forssman, o.c., 1956, p.30. R. Rolf, Pieter Coecke van Aelst en zijn architectuuruitgaves

van 153 9 - met reprint van zijn ,Die Inventie der colommen' en , Generale reglen der architecturen' (Amsterdam, 1978), p.42.

39

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

"Scilders, Beeldesniiders, Architecten vroet, Ende oock ghij Steenhouwers, ghy Smeden sterck Liefhebbers der Symmetrien conste soet Compt hier, compt besiet dit costliik nieuwe werc."

"Painters, Sculptors, Architects industrious And also you Stonemasons, you Smiths strong Amateurs of the Symmetry sweet art Come here, Con-ie see this precious new work"

Two pattern books in one. Architectura counts five chapters, each consisting of two parts. But this five-part structure can easily be regrouped into a two-part structure. This happens when we consider on one hand the five plates with columns, and on the other the practical examples (mainly façades). In this way Architecturais devided in a part on columns and their decoration and a part on applications. ln other words, Architectura consists of two separate books: a columnbook and a façadebook. This analysis is justified in two further ways. Firstly the target group. When we compare the text from the column part,Vredeman addresses himself to a wide variety of readers and craftsmen: "Steenhouwers / Beeltsnijders / Schrijnwerckers en Schilders", " Glaesschrijners" and sometimes even to "Ingenieuse beminders der Architecturen"22 ("stonemasons, sculptors,joiners, painters, stained glass artists" and "Ingenious lovers of Architecture"). The part with practical applications or façadebook on the contrary is directed to a more specific group of readers: people who are active in the building process: the "Architect" (also called "Architecteur" or "Architector"), the "Boumeester" (the building master or master mason), and sometimes even the "grontheer" ("landlord, owner of the ground") or "proprietaris" ("proprietor"). Secondly the goal and purpose of the two parts are different. V redeman sees the column-part of his 1577 Architectura merely as yet another addition to what is by then already commonly known and on which a sufficient number of books were already published by himself and others: columns. He is of course convinced that the information he gives here, has not been published yet in other books but pays only little attention to the matter. He daims that he sticks closely to these other sources. If his readers would want to learn more about columns, he refers them explicitly and on several occasions to these other books ("Vitruvius and the others") and to his own previous books. In other words,Vredeman only wants to give some additional information but clearly has no intention of repeating what he himself and all his predecessors have already explained from every conceivable angle:

1. "... / en inde gemeyne Vitruuius vindy de particulaiere maten tot alles daer by / daer ghy beminde liefhebber niet tegen vinden suit / in alles wat ick der Collumnen belangende betoone / maer daer ganschelijc ais dalder outste / beste ende ercellentste in maten ende proportien toe refereren ais der Architecturen meester." (Dorica 6, r.43-48); (" ... / and in the commonly [known] Vitruvius you find the specific dimensions of all / You won't find there, my beloved reader / all what I show here concerning the columns / [but] it is the oldest / and the best and most excellent in dimensions and proportions and [I] refer to it as the master of architecture.") 2. " ... /dan tusschen de tweede en derde Columne sijn gheteeckent /de generale maten en deylinghen van de gheheele schorsinghe vanden grondt op / alsoo met Pedestael met sijne leden en Cornissen ais Base, Columne, Capiteel,Architrabe, Phrysen en Cornissen oft Coronament met aile haer leden en toebehoorten / hoe wel niet sonderlinghen anders dan de leeringhe Vitruuius, ende antique meesters leerende voorhouden / sulcmen breeder in hun boecken verclaert vindt / namelijc inde boek Vitruuij." (Corinthia 17, r.1421); (" ... / between the second and third column are drafted / the general measures and proportions of the complete construction from the ground up / with pedestal with its elements and comices

22

H.Vredeman de Vries, o.c., 1581 - 15771 ,Toskana 1, r.2425, Dorica 6, r.2-3, Dorica 6, r.6, Ionica 13, r.12-13, Composita 23, r.19 and Composita 23, r.34.

40

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

as base, column [-shaft], capital, architrave, frieze and comices or crowning with ail of its parts and accessories / not much different from the theory ofVitruvius, and other antique masters / so one finds more elaborately explained in their books / namely in the book [of] Vitruvius."

3. "JiVczt meer van de Composita en alle andere vier Oorden te seggen is (eft te bewijsen) sal elck een dies verstaende / beraden met de schriften ende leeringhe Vitruuij. ende meer ander meesters wel en genoech gedeclareert en in oorden ghestelt hebben / om wel te maken / ende daer en can nu niet ghemaect worden / dat den seluen niet ghemaect en heeft.Alsoo dat niet van noode is yet daer af meer te stellen eft te leeren / dan in mijn groote Columneboeck ghemaect voor ]eronymus Cock / daer hebt ghy de particuliere stucken ende deylinghen der Columnen / met dat daertoe behoort / int groote I elck met sijn behoorlijcke chieragie ende mate." (Comp. 23, r.41-51) ("to what is more to be said (or explained) in relation to the Composita and ail the other four Orders, each will find / in the writings and theory of Vitruvius and other masters where [it] is well and [already] sufficiently stated and explained / how to make it / and there is nothing more to be do ne / that has not been do ne already by the same. Also it is not necessary to state here more or to teach [here] more / than in my great column book made for Hiernonymus Cock / there you will find the particular elements and proportions of the columns / with ail that belongs toit/ from every conceivable angle/ each [column] with its proper decoration and dimensions." In the column part ofhis book,Vredeman deliberately limits himself to some little additional information, considering columns are already sufficiently known. He sees the façade-part on the contrary as something very renewing: every artist or craftsman may then be sufficiently familiar with the column orders, building 'good' façades is yet another matter:

"Aengaande wat de Oordene de Columne Dorici is met al haar behoorlijcke ornamenten / is elc liefhebber dies belanghende genoegh berecht wt Vitruuius leeringhe / en meer andere dies wtgende boecken. Maer om de selve genoechlijcker in sijn oorden te stellen / om daer eenighe Edifzcie eft ghebouwe wt te procederen en te commoderen . . . : So hebben wy ulieden hier twee formen ... ghestelt / . . . / in forme alsoo ghy hier sien meught / ... " (Dorica 7, r.1-9) ("Concerning the Orcier of the Column Dorica with ail its delightful ornaments / is every amateur of the matter [already] sufficiently instructed from the teachings ofVitruvius / and more other books on the matter. But to put the same appropriately in its place/ [and] to make some edifices or buildings out of it and accomodate them ... : There too we have presented you here two exarnples / ... / in the form you may see here / ... ") By 15 77 the theory of columns was apparently commonly known in the Antwerp artistic milieu and in the many branches of craftsmanship. The new challenge and still unresolved problem, according to Vredeman, is now to apply this knowledge on real buildings ( "Edifzcie oft ghebouwe") and no longer only in the world of so called 'small architecture', backgrounds of paintings or furniture. In other words: Vredeman is convinccd it is time actually to build in the sense and spirit of the orders. I lis Architectura and more specifically the façade-partis very consciously meant to deliver some examples of'how it should be clone'. In this way it is a sort of manual, an instruction book by means of examples.Vredeman does not recommend his readers to follow scrupulously the presented examples and to copy them meticulously: they are not 'patronen'. 23 Vredeman sees his façades as indicative examples, or as

23

A 'patroon' is a term and concept used since the middle of the 15rh century in Brabant spreading to northern Europe afterwards and meaning the eventual and definitive design

like it should be executed, like the 'patronen' Raphael sent to Brussels to be executed in tapestry.

41

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

he puts it: the reader could easily imagine for each order some "five to six" more examples.Vredeman uses in this context the very meaningful word "inventeren" and sees his façade designs as "inventions" in the 16th_century meaning of the word:

Ick en stelle oock tselfde niet voor een effect Patroon oJt Modele / omsoo iusyst te moeten ghemaect worden / dan maer voor ordinancie en maniere / om oft yemant sulcr yet des selfs mocht te passe comen / en dat van noode ware / men sou noch wel vijf oJt ses differente soorten deses ais (van devoorgaende andere) ordinancien inuenteren en teeckenen tot desen wercke /ais tot andere wercken / ... " (Corinthia 21, r.27-32) ("l do not present this with the effect of a 'Patroon' or model / to be made [copied] correctly /but [only] for the order and manner /or when such thing would be of use to someone / and be of need / one could invent and draft well [=easily] five or six more different sorts of the same ([or] of the previous others) designs to this work /as to other works / ... ") Terminology. In his Dutch translation of Serlio's fourth book, Pieter Coecke van Aelst did not use any Dutch word to indicate the new Renaissance architecture, nor did he 'dutch-ify' the original Italian or Latin words. It is true that there were probably no Dutch alternatives to the original vocabulary. But on the other hand, Coecke explicitly defends the use of the original Vitruvian terminology, using words like Torus, Plintus, Cimatium, ... so that everyone uses the same terminology:

"Also dat ick / aenghesien wij dese maniere van Vitruuio onifange~ hebben, sou~ de prysen datmen hem der vocable Vitruuij ghewendde, op dat de gheleerde vanden werckman, eii de werckma~ vanden gheleerden verstaen wordde ... " 2 4 ("In this way I / since we have received this manner [ofbuilding] ofVitruvius, [I] would praise it when one uses the vocabulary ofVitruvius, so that the scholar is understood by the workman and the workman by the scholar") Vredeman uses the same terminology in the column-part of his Architectura. It can easily be recognised in the 1581 reprint because it is printed in the Roman letter, whereas the rest ofhis text is printed in the traditional Brabantine (Gothie) letter. But some of the Latin or Italian terminology are already 'dutchified', maybe via a French detour. This is especially clear in the words in plural:Vredeman speaks of "Basseringhe", "Cornissen", "Pedestaelen", "Basementen", ... but also of "het Coronament" and "het Capiteel", ... A terrn Vredeman uses to indicate his façades is "Montay", meaning a main façade: "Hel Derde Stvck Dorica, Treatiseerende noch tvveederhande stuc ken van Montay, oft voorgevels ''. 25 Another word V redeman uses is "voortooch eens gevels". The word Montay is probably derived from the French word "Montée". But a façade is not the same as a pointed gable: façades without a pointed or pyramidal top are named "Montay, oft voorgeuels ... sonder Frontis": a 'frontis' means thus a gable. Other words in the same context meaning 'elevation' are: "opstaend werck", "den optreck" or "Schantssinghen" and "Stagien der Architecturen" in which "stagie" or "stadie" signifies a storey or floor, like in 'stage'. He also uses "verdiepinghen" or "verdiepens" and sometimes "Schorsinge" indicating a storey as well as the whole façade. The process ofbuilding is indicated by the Dutch verb "bouen" or "bouwen", but also with "timmeren" which is originally used for timber constructions.A ground plan is named a "gront", plural "gronden" but he also uses

24

R. Rolf, o.c., 1978, p.A.Iv. H.Vredeman de Vries, o.c., 1577 (1581),Dorica 8, title. In contemporary works like du Cerceau's Les Plvs excellents Bas-

25

42

timents de France (Paris, 1576-1579), the term used in the same context is "Face" or "Elevation".

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

the foreign word "Ignographie". The building site is the "plaetseJI. A word Vredeman frequently uses is "ordinantieJI (also "ordonnancieJI or "ordinancieJI). In the building tradition of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, this word signifies the large part of responsibilities in a building process from the design of the building and its details to the organisation and control of the actual building site, including technical advice. V redeman uses the word in a more restricted sense, meaning the design on paper or even the mere drawing itself

" ... / alsoo ghy sien meught inde ordinancie / ... JI (Corinthia 20, r.24) "Op tselfde twintichste blat Corinthia derde stuck.2A. gheteecke~t / hebt ghy noch een ordinancie ... met eenen Toren / ... "(Corinthia 20, r.29-30) "Dies hebben wy oock hier in twee diuersche soorten eft ordinantien der dien Edificien ... gheteeckent ••• JI (Corinthia 21, r.8-10) The notion ordinantie does not caver the large, well known representation drawings, for instance on expensive parchment, of which some have been preserved, like the famous late Gothie drawings of towers or town halls of the builders dynasties of Kelderrnans or De Waghernakere. These were called "patroon" and were specifically commissioned by the client. Those drawings were complete and to be followed meticulously during execution.Vredeman again does not consider his façade designs to be "patronen". The 'Architect'. The term 'Architect' was probably used in the Low Countries for the first inAntwerp in 1539, namely in the Dutch translation of some ofVitruvius's work by Pieter Coecke, titled Die Inventie der Colommen. The notion 'Architect' was at that time not in use, as Coecke explains in his first chapter: "Ben carte verhaling uut Vitruuio vvat Architectura is, ende van die institutie des Architecten JI. Also in Coecke's translation of Serlio's fourth book, De Generale reglen, the notion of 'the Architect' is frequently used, but without further explanation. From 1540 onwards, the term was gradually more used but in some regions it took until the 17th century before the word was commonly known. According to Meischkc the word 'Architcct' was originally used to indicate the foreign, ltalian, designer of fortification works, and not the traditional designer ofbuildings. 26 Donato Boni di Pellizuoli was called like this in 1547 in Middelburg. The term was further used in relation with Vitruvius and Alberti. Somewhat later than the word 'architect', the word 'engineer' appeared, but in the same context as designer of fortification works. One of the first designers of the Low Countries to be named 'architect' was the sculptor and artist to the Court,] acques Dubroeucq when he was an advisor to the jury of the Antwerp Town Hall competition in 1560. Mostly the term was reserved to ltalian masters or to the master related to the Court or to very important cities, in other words it was reserved to an elite. The word 'Architect' appears frequently in Vredeman's text. Vitruvius is mentioned twice as 'architect', once as "den experten excellentenArchitect" in the opening verse, and as "dennArchitecten meester" (Dorica 6, r.48). It is clear that Vredeman considers the term as a foreign notion: in the 1581 edition it is systematically printed in the Roman (Latin) letter. It bears different meanings: in some cases,Vredeman uses it for the designer of fortifications or the engineer, for example when he describes his designs of bridges, warehouses and fortifications. But mostly the term means something else: when Vredeman uses it in the description ofhis façade designs, he does not refer to the engineer or the famous 'dite' master. It is striking that Vredeman uses the term in the context of ail his designs, even the simpler ones. Whether Vredeman consciously aims to popularise the notion, or whether on the contrary tirn~e

26

R. Meischke, 'Het architectonische ontwerp in de Nederlanden gedurende de late middeleeuwen en de zestiende eeuw', Bulletin KNOB, 5, (1952), pp.161-230.

43

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

the term was by that time already commonly used in the - progressive - Antwerp context, is not clear. How Vredeman sees 'the architect', what he does and which responsibilities he has in the building process, can be reconstructed by analysing some text extracts:

1. " ... / alsoo wel tot de gront ais tot den optreck oft opstaende werc den discreten / besochten Architect sait disponeren en commoderen / naer gheleghen plaetse en gheweste / soot hij't ten beste goet bevinden sal." (Dorica 9, r.26-28) (". . . / thus regarding the plan as well as the elevation, the particular / assigned Architect will adapt it / to the possibilities of site and region / as he finds it suitable.") 2. " ... de trappen oJt ander nootlij'cke seruissen /ais Privaten I Garderobbe / hangende camers oJt slaepcamers / ... / dat moet elc verstandich Architect ende bouwmeester ten besten na sij'n gheleghen gront en plaetse accomoderen / en te passe brengen / ... " (Dorica 10, r.20-25) ("the stairs or other necessary services / like toilets / wardrobe / hanging rooms or sleeping rooms / ... / that must every sensible Architect and building master at the best ofhis possibilities accomodate to the specific site and terrain / and to make it fit / ... ") 3. in relation with the articulation of the colonnade regarding the question wether round, three quarter or half-columns are required, Vredeman states: " ... mach elc Architect doen soo sy su Ier sullen goet vinden / ... " (Corinthia 18, r.32-33) (" ... every Architect must do as he finds it well / ... ").This sort of references to the personal judgement of the 'Architect' are frequent. 4. " ... / wt de ordinancie ende ghelegentheyt der plaetsen sal elck discreetArchitect wel weten te reguleren / watter meer toe behooren sal ghedaen sij'ne / d'welck beueel ick elck een sij'nder discretien en ingenie ten besten." (Corinthia 19, r.38-41) (" ... / from the characteristics and possibilities of the site each particular Architect will know what to do/ what ought to be clone / this I recommend to [his] individual capacities and genius") 5. "Soo veel de ordinantie belangt / naer wtwij'sen des distancie / plaetse en goede ghelege~theyt / sal elc ingenieus Architect ten beste accomoderen / tsy metter maten daer by gheteeckent staen / oft alsulcr ais elck by sij'n beste wetentheyt oft verstant considereren en bevindcn sal / noodich endc behoorlijck te wesen / ... ") (Corinthia 20, r.50-55) ("What concerns the design / according to the dimensions / site and good opportunities / each ingenious Architect will accommodate [it] at his best / either with the dimensions [that are] drafted [on the plate]/ or how every [Architect] willjudge and find it suitable according to his wisdom or sense / necessary and appropriate / ... ") On other places in the text, the same ideas appear, though less explicitly. Thus Vredeman's 'Architect' is certainly nota theoretician or scholar, but someone who practices and designs. He is very solution-oriented and has to "disponeren en commoderen" the plan of the building (extract 1), to "accomoderen" the layout of the building (extract 2) and its dimensions (extract 5) and foremost, he is responsible for the "ordinantie" (extracts 4 and 5). In extract 1, it is indicated that the 'Architect' is personally assigned by the commissioner: "besochten ".Vredemans' 'Architect' has to take into account the particularities and potential of the building site, and should be concerned about the everyday needs of the occupants of the building, like toilets, wardrobes, and so on. How should the 'Architect' fulfill these responsabilities?Vredeman gives him ail possible freedom: according to his own experience, knowledge and sense. Even in the field of the dimensions and proportions of the columns, he gives him large credit.This is completely opposed to Serlio, who in his fourth book gives accurately the exact dimensions and proportions that should be followed.Vredeman goes even further:

,, ... / de generale maten sal u de reden intghebruyc gheuen onnoodich hier by te stellen oft al te verhalen / ... "(Corinthia 19, r.31-33)

44

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

(,,the overall dimensions will be given by the use [of the building] [and it is] not necessary to give them here or to explain already / ... ") It is remarkable how stronglyVredeman stresses the responsibilities of the 'Architect', towards the plan and layout of the building. In 1595 in Antwerp, there was a significant court case of the traditional masons guild, representing stonemasons and masons, against the sculptors with architectural ambitions. One of the arguments of the guild to demonstrate their superiority was that the sculptor-architect Cornelis Floris, famous designer of the Antwerp Town Hall façade, was not able to produce the plans of the building and the construction of staircases! This task had to be taken over by two members of the guild. Because Vredeman so vehemently accentuates precisely this particular aspect in relation to the notion 'Architect', it appears that the façade-part of his book is destined mainly to serve the large group of craftsmen of the guild. In the title, he addresses indeed the "Bawmaistren ", "Maurer" and "Stainmetzlen" which are precisely the different branches represented within the guild. 27 One should not forget that Vredeman himself is not a member of the builders guild, but a painter, belonging to another guild and therefore an 'outsider' as Cornelis Floris was. The façade-part ofhis book can thus be seen not only as an examplebook, but also as an instruction book for the members of the guild who he respectfully names 'Architect', showing them how to design in a practical way in the Renaissance style. Considering the enormous success ofhis publication with many reprints until far into the next century on one band and the numerous buildings in N orthern Europe that were influenced by his work on the other,Vredeman seems to have been succesful in his attempt.

The use of the column orders in the façade The character of the order. ln his translation of the fourth book on architecture of Sebastiano Serlio, Pieter Coecke systematically and thoroughly explains and illustrates the' character' of each column order. Theoretically the type of application and the use of each of the column orders are closely related to their character.Vitruvius gave the Doric, Ionie and Corinthian orders a deeper symbolic meaning by linking them to certain categories of Roman gods. The columns of the temples serving these gods should be of the corresponding column order. Serlio further elaborated this idea, but modified this symbolism and adapted it to the 'needs' of contemporary society by diverting it towards a more christianised and secular interpretation:

"Maer in dese tegenwoerdige tyden dunct my goct te proccdcrc~ ducr anderemaniere, niet vervremde-de daero- vande- antique~ voersz., miin meyning is (achtervolghe~de de costume~ va~ onsen kerstene~J dat ick (also verre ais ick vermach) sal toesciue~ de heylighe Edijicie~ na iegheliix wesen, Gode en sinen heylige~: En de profane dats do~gewiide edijicie~, so publique, so priuate, sal ick toescriue~ de~ mensche~, na iegheliix staet en prefessie. " 28 ("But in these present times it seems to me good to proceed in another way, not alienating therefore from the foresaid antiques, my opinion is (following the customs of us Christians) that 1 (as far as 1 am able) will appropriate the holy edifices accordingly to each character, God 27 There was no separate guild for the building masters, like it existed for the painters (the Guild of Saint Lucas) or the weavers, the butchers and so on. One could make a career as building mas ter within the guild of the rnasons, w hich counted under its members the wall-masons (Vredemans ,,Maurer") as well as the stonemason (Vredemans ,,Stainmetzlen "). After their apprentice-ship as a mason or stone-

mason, the building masters commonly did no longer perform manual labour: they were professionally active in the field of building design, in constructional and technical matters and/ or in the supervision, control and managment of the building site. 28 R. Rolf, o.c., 1978, p.A.II en A.Iiv.

45

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

and his saints: and the secular, which are the non consecrated edifices, public or private, I will attribute to the persons, following everyone's status and profession") Thus the Tuscan order stands for the rural, the countryside, the "dorpsche" (the 'village' -like as Coecke describes it himself) on one hand and the defensive strength on the other. Its applications are restricted to the buildings which in a broad sense, are connected to warfare:

"So segick da~ dat de maniere Thuscana (na miin duncke~) behoorliic is tot stercte~, ais tot poorte~ va~ steden, tot castele~, tot plaetsen om scatten, munitie~ en artiglerie~ te bewarene, tot geua~genissen, tot hauene~ der see, en andere diergelike totter oirlogen dienende." 29 ("Thus I say that the manner Thuscana (according to my opinion) is appropriate for strongholds, for gates to cities, to castles, to places where treasures, ammunition and artillery are kept, for prisons, for ports towards the see, and other similar things serving for war.") The Doric order stands for heroism and should be applied in this context, in buildings which refer to brave martyrs and to hernie worldly leaders:

"De Antique~ (also ghy ghoort hebt) aensagen de~ staet der goed~, en ordineerde~ de Dorica tot Iuppiter, Mars, Hercules, en andere robuste gode~. Maer wy, willende Christo, Paulo, Petra, Giorgio, oft andere sulcke~ heylighe~ eenige temple~ bouwe~ die niet allen souldate~ geprefessiet siin geweest, maer manliicheit en cracht getoont hebbe~ in haer leue~ te stercke voer tgelooue in Christo. Alsulckene~ behoort de Dorica: !]fi niet allee~ aen gode~, maer oock liede~ van wapene~en va~ stercte~, tsi groote personaige~, middelbare, oft cleine, wat Edificie~ datme~ haer maken sal, behoort toe dese maniere va~ Dorica." 30 ("The antiques (as you have heard) saw the status of the gods, and attributed the Dorica to Jupiter, Mars, Hercules and other robust gods. But we, wanting to build some temples for Christ, Paul, Peter, George, or other such Saints which have not all been soldiers of profession, but have shown manliness and strength in their lives for the Faith in the Christ. To them belongs the Dorica: and not only to gods, but also to persons of weapons and of strcngth, it be great persons, rniddle or small, whatever building one will make for them, belongs this manner ofDorica"). The Ionie order is the 'middle order' and therefore designated to the large majority of saints in between the 'robust' and the 'tender', between the very brave and the lovely, namely to those who did not distinguish themselves in any spectacular way and also to the scholars:

"Vcm dese Ionica treatiseeert Vitruuius int vierde boeck int eerste capittel, ende also gheseyt is, namense de Antiquen vande forme der vrouwen, ende voechdense tot Dianen tot Apollo en Bacchus. & c. Maer wy Christene~ hebbe~de van deser ordinen eenen tempel te makene, dien sullen wy dediceren sulcke~Santen eft Santinne~ die tusschen dat robuste ende teedere gheweest siin, desgheliix in ghemeene~ wercken ist voer gheleerde stille lieden welcke noch robust noch teeder en siin, dien sal dese ordine eft manier dienen. "31 ("Of this Ionica treats Vitruvius in his fourth book in the first chapter, and as been said, it was taken by the Antiques for the form of women, and appropriated to Diana, to Apollo and Bacchus & co. But us Christians, when we have to make a temple with this order, we will dedicate it to Saints who have been between the robust and the tender, and in buildings destined to silent scholars who are neither robust nor tender, to them this order or manner will serve.")

29 30

Ibid., p.A.Iiv. Ibid., p.D.III.

46

31

R. Rolf, o.c., 1978, p.I.Iiv.

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

Serlio and Coecke connect the Corinthian order to the Virgin Mary, and therefore this order can only be used in relation to 'pure and honest persons':

"Die deriuatie vanden Capitelle Corinthio, was van eender maghet van Corinthien ... Ick wil wel seggen dat / had men eenen Tempe/ tot der maghet Marien / oft ander Santen en Santinnen van maechdeliicken leuene te maken, oock aen huysingen eft sepulturen tot persoonen van suveren eerliicken leuene, daer mochtme~ dese maniere vseren. ") 32 ("The [form of the] Corinthian capital was derived from a virgin from Corinthia [in Greece] ... I want to say that / if one has to make a Temple [dedicated] to the Virgin Mary / or [to] other Saints with a virgin life, or on ho uses or tombs of persons of pure and honest life, then one can use this manner"). Serlio and Coecke do not develop a characteristic typology for the Composite order. According to Serlio it was mainly used on triumphal gates to symbolise the hegemony and rule of the Romans over ail other submitted people in the Empire, from whom they derived the other orders (Tuscan, Doric, Ionie and Corinthian). In this way the Composite order is the typically 'Italian' order ofwhich the use is less submitted to specific rules than ail other orders and therefore more 'free'. According to Van Mander's biography on Vredeman, the latter has clearly familiarised himself with the theory and symbolism of the column order. In his own text in Architectura, Vredeman however never develops any similar characterisation of the orders, which should be, according to Serlio and Coecke, the basis for each use of the orders. In his description of the Tuseau order,Vredernan gives a small enumeration of the possible applications of the order: "in gronde ("underground?"), on the lower storeys, on bridges, basements, gates and warehouses, arsenals, strongholds and "Blockhuysen" ("bunkers?"), and further more. He does not mention or allude to any rural aspect, countrylife or the "dorpsche" character. The examples he displays are indeed bridges, city or fortification gates and strongholds, which correspond to Serlio's prescriptions. In the examples Vredeman gives under each of the different orders, a certain pattern can nevertheless be recognised, following from a certain distance Serlio's prescriptions.Vredeman displays under the Doric order his pleasure house and two façades destined to a "Prince eft Heere van auctoriteyt eft machte" ("Prince or Lord of authority and might"). This lies completely in line with Serlio's and Coecke's 'brave potentates'. He presents two church façades under the Corinthian order, in which a relation with purity and the Virgin Mary could be seen. These few points of similarity in the interpretation and use of the orders remain, however rare and ac ci dental.Vredeman indeed has worked out façades for the powerful members of society under each type of order and even most frequently under the Corinthian order! An association with maidenhood, purity, chastity or virginity is then surely absent. 33 An interesting question lies in how and why V redeman chooses a particular order for a particular façade or why is a specific type of façade represented under a specific order? Firstly we need to examine the functional programme of the façades under each order. Sometimes this programme is clearly stated in the text of Architectura, sometimes it can be discovered implicitly either in the text or from the occasional ground plans: Dorica: Sorne dwellings or houses A "playsante huysinghe op eenen hef" ("a pleasant house on a courtyard or garden")

32 33

Ibid., p.M.II. Serlio on the other hand does not seem to stick closely

to his own prescriptions. Apart from church façades, he also presents palace architecture under the Corinthian order.

47

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

Two façades for a house of a "Prince eft Heere van auctoriteyt oft machte" Ionica: Although no specific programme is described, all façades seem to belong to houses or dwellings. The last two façades are clearly larger and more prestigious: palaces or town halls? Corinthia: Vredeman may be vague for the previous orders, but for the Corinthian order, the fonction and programme of the buildings are elaborately, almost enthusiastically, described. Most have prestigious programmes, normal dwellings take no longer part: Two façades for "Palleysche huysinghe" for "groote Heren" ("palace houses for great lords") Two façades for a "Stadthuys, Reathuys eft huys daer eenighe natien eft diergelijken mach in wonen" ("Town Hall, Council Hall or house where a nation or something similar may live") Two façades (with towers) destined to "Edificien eenigen Princelijker hoven eft Palleysen op een incomen eender grooten plaetsen oft voorhof" ("Edifices for a princely Court or Palaces [placed] on a large courtyard or place"), further on also described as "huysinghe van playsancie" ("house of pleasure") Finally two façades for the portal of a church. The difference between on one hand the Doric and Ionie façades, and on the other the Corinthian is striking. Although Ionie programmes are in general somewhat more opulent than their Doric counterparts, the Corinthian are far more prestigious than the other two. For the church façades the theoretical connotation of purity could hold up, but for the others it seems obvious: building in the Corinthian order gives more prestige to the owner than in any of the other orders regardless of any symbolic meaning. The logic behind the use of orders, which Vredeman applies, is thus clearly different than the theoretical prescriptions of Serlio and Coecke. The most important thing is the amount of prestige an order can give to a façade or building programme.Alberti already spoke about this aspect of the columns by writing that the most excellent decoration in ail of architectural art lies in the mere column as they are elegant, graceful and lend lustre to the building. 34 In which elements of an order lays its prestige? Obviously not in its theoretical and symbolic meaning, but in the direct visual impact. The most striking visual differences between the orders are their proportions (length vs. diameter), the possibility to apply extra decoration and, most importantly, the capital. Since in his façades V redeman uses his version of the Corinthian order in random proportions (sometimes the proportions are even similar to those oftheTuscan order), this is not an important issue. The influence of secondary decoration cqually is not dccisivc since rnost of bis Corinthian columns are remarkably sober despite the many decorative possibilities shown in plate 17. In fact Vredeman gives for all five orders many options for refined decoration of the column shaft, so this does not separate the Corinthian order from the others. Remains the capital. The Corinthian order indeed has a more refined and visually more complex capital than the others (apart maybe from the Composite order): apparently this is the decisive factor. Other arguments subscribe to this hypothesis. Firstly Vredernan does not use the superposition of orders in bis Corinthian façades. On all storeys the Corinthian order is used, whereas traditionally one should start with a lower order, like a Tuscan or Do rie one, followed by a Ionie higher up and so on. The application itself of the most prestigious order seems to enlarge the splendour in a quantitative way. This aspect is meaningful sin ce V redeman actually do es use the superposition of orders in some of his Doric palace façades. Also the Antwerp Town Hall uses superposition whereas Vredeman does not in bis Corinthian Town Hall façades. Secondly the colurnns in bis Corinthian façades are remarkably cornplete. The cornposing elements of the column

34

E. Forssman, o.c., 1956.

48

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

are almost always ail present, whereas under the other orders many elements are frequently omitted. In many Ionie façades the column shaft has disappeared and only the capital remains. In the Doric examples the capital itself is often left behind and only a triglyph motif reminds of the used order. In other words: the presence of the column shaft is an important element of prestige.

A statement of principle References to the old building traditions. Tradition is never far away in Vredeman's text, as has been demonstrated on several occasions in this article. He doesn't lean only on the (powerful) example of classical Italian Renaissance architecture, but fùters it through a sieve oflocal tradition. In the text, explicit references to the existing building practice in the Low Countries are made regularly, or as Vredeman calls it, to "dees landts wijse en ghebruyc" (Dorica 7, r.6-7). The description of the last six Corinthian façades is preceded by a general reflection on local customs and habits. In the context of his town hall façades,Vredeman writes that 'in each town, big or small, where justice is practised, aspecific place is organised to this goal according to the local tradition' (Corintha 19, r.1-4). The towers added to the palace designs are described as traditional and frequently used elements which can be seen "aen vele huysingen binnen als buyten de steden" (Corintha 20, r.1-8 : 'on many houses inside and outside the cities'). ln relation with the church façades,Vredeman refers to mediaeval Gothie church entrances:

"Vvij bevinden ooc op sommige plaetsen in anse Nederlanden / aen Kerken /Moderne eenighe tnifl,ijcke gecierde Poortalen : eft Frontis / tsy aen de sijden opt cruyswerc / eft onder de Torens / ... "(Corintha 21, r.1-4)

"We also find on some places in our Low Countries / on modern [= Gothie!] Churches / some appropriately decorated portals : or façades / be it on the sicles on the transept / or under the towers [this is traditionally the west façade] ... ) and to a previous example in the Low Countries of a Renaissance façade added to a Gothie building:

"ooc wel eeniighe aen Moderne Kerken / antique Pooralen / alsoo ick eenen ghesien hebbe binnen Luyck / aen Sint Jacobskerke een Abdye / tselfde van harden steen ghemaect / en wel gheciert / tselfde stont my wel aen / en hadde goede ordinancie / ... ( Corintha 21, r. 4-7) " (also some on Modern [= Gothie!] Churches / antique portals / as 1 have seen one inside [the city ofj Liège/ on the Church of Saint Jacob, an Abbey/ the same made ofhard stone [this is the so-called "blue stone", as explained earlier in this article] /and well decorated / it pleased me well / and had a good order [which means that the rules of the five orders of columns were well applied] ") He refers equally to the traditional use of galleries on pleasure houses and residences:

" ... / en alsoomen hier te lande seer int ghebruyc heeft / by die van eenighe macht eft reputatie sijn / van groote beslage commoderen en haer bauwinghe / hun gronden al in eenighe manieren / met eenighe ghaelderijen / tsy op hun houen / eft plaetsen daert hun belieft gheleghen ende plaisant is." (Corintha 9, r.5-10) (" ... / and as one has here in this land much in use / by whom is of any power or reputation / and accommodate their buildings in large style / [and] their grounds in the same way / with some galleries / it [can] be on the courtyards /or [other] places that please them and is pleasant")

49

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

3.The Castle of Boussu, façade of south wing after a painting of A. De Montigny from c.1607

"Accomoderen naer gheleghentheyt deses Landts ghebruyckinghe ... " Under the Doric order, a paragraph in the text pleads to consider the local traditions. It accompanies the very first plate of the order book and precedes ail other façade designs further on in the book. lt demonstrates thatVredeman is an advocate of the adaptation of the principles and forms of the still rather new Renaissance architecture to the local context in the Low Countries.Vredeman estimates that the theory of the five orders is already sufficiently known, but is convinced of the necessity to demonstrate how to use these orders in façade designs in order to make 'good' buildings:

" ... eenighe Edificie oft ghebouwe te procederen en te commoderen na sijn qualiteit /na dees landts wijse en ghebruyc" (Dorica 7, r. 5-7 ) (" ... to produce some Edifice or building and to accomodate it according toits quality / according to this lands' manner and tradition") In large trading cities, according to V redeman's text, little space is available and as a consequence the building grounds are expensive and there is a tendency to construct high buildings - this sounds remarkably actual! An important issue is to get sufficient light inside these buildings. The design of the future building has to adapt itself as much as possible to these constraints in order to achieve a maximum comfort or "commodite,,.Vredeman lists clown eight architects in the Low Countries "architecteurs deser Nederlanden,,, who in his opinion meet these standards. He mentions well- known names like "Meester Jacques van Berghen" (Master Jacques of Mons, this is Jacques Dubroeucq) 35 and "Guilliame

50

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

4. Engraving no. 9 from Hans V redeman de Vries, Scenographiae, sive Perspectivae . . . , (Antwerp, 1560)

Paludani" (Willem van den Broecke alias Palludanus) 36 , but above ail he lauds Cornelis Floris.37Their genius lies in their capacity, according to Vredeman, to answer to the existing building traditions, "meer dan oyt de Antiquen van noode is gheweest" ('more than ever was necessary for the Antiques [= the archi-

35 Jacques

Dubroeucq was a Renaissance sculptor and ardutect. His works as architect are situated mostly in the context of the H absburgian Court, but he also designed some Town Halls: the town halls of Ath and Beaumont. In Vredeman's opinion, Dubroeucq's architecture testifies of sufficient traditional elements to be glorified in this context. One elernent ofDubroeucq's architecture, which is clearly ,traditional', is his use of materials. In the castles of Boussu (see Fig.3), construction started in 1539), Binche (15451549) and Mariemont (ca.1 548) a combination of brickwork and stone is used: stone for the plinth, the columns, the dripstones, door and window framework, pediments, balustrades, etc .. . and brickwork for the plain walls. Sorne elements of these castles can be recognised in the pavilions in many ofVredeman's perspective engravings (see Fig.4). Also the central crowning of the nliddle tower of the Boussu castle is to be found in many of his perspective views.

Hedicke classifies Jacques Dubroeucq as one of the representatives of the ,severe' R enaissance style in the Low Countries. R. H edicke, Cornelis Floris und die Florisdekoration - Studien zur niederliindische und deutsche Kunst im XVI.Jahrhundert, 2 vols., (Berlin, 1913), pp.108-09. 36 Willem van den Broecke, sculptor, is mentioned in the context of the façade of the Antwerp Town Hall. H is role is believed to be substantial. A document dating from 1595 demonstrates that Palludanus was partly responsible, together with Cornelis Floris, for the design of the façade of the building.]. Duverger, 'Cornelis Floris II en het stadhuis van Antwerpen', Gentsche Bijdragen tot de Kunstgeschiedenis, 7, 1941,pp.37-72. 37 This partly explains the large influence of the Antwerp Town Hall on Vredeman's façade designs, though it was absolutely not the sole inspiration source, as it is clearly demonstrated in this article.

51

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

tects of the Antiques]'). Therefore these three masters, still according to Vredeman, distinguish themselves from, as he calls it, "vermaarde lieden "('famous people') like Vitruvius, Serlio, and 'Jacobus Androuetus Gerseau"(= Jacques Androuet du Cerceau), who focused on the Italian customs.Vredeman describes their façade designs, as he knows them from their "boecken en Patroonen" ('from their books and patterns') as follows:

" ... /sonder cruys-vensters / en sonderlinghen groot licht soeckende / noch hoge verdiepingen ! dan breet en weynich verdiepens." (Dorica 6, r.55-57) ("without stone cross windows / and without seeking the big light / nor the high storeys / but broad and [with] few storeys") Or, like in his opinion the architecture in the Low Countries should not be. And he continues:

"Hoe wel dat den vermaerden Vitruuius, Sebastiaen Serlio, en den erperten Jacobus Androuetus Gerseau, ende meer andere diuersche sorten van Facien / Edificien / Frontes oft Geuels / naer de antuiteytse Italiaense maniere en ghebruyc haerder Architecturen en bouwinghen ghestelt hebben / alsoomen in haerlieden en meer anderen Meesters / boecken en Patroonen beuindt / naer dien 5 landts aert ! wesen en ghebruyc /sonder cruys-vensters /en sonderlinghen groot licht soeckende / noch hooge verdiepinghen /dan breet en weynich verdiepens: Maer in dese Nederlanden heeftmen een andere conditie ! namelijck in Steeden van grooter negotien / daer de plaetsen cleyn and dier sijn / moetmen al in de hoochde tot veel gheriefs / met veel lichts te crijgen / inuenteren en soecken / elck na sijngheleghentheyt en plaetse / tsy groot oft cleijn / de meeste commodite en dienst der Edificien oft logamenten der Architecturen soecken ende ghebruycken op sijn ghelegen plaetse / sulcr wel ghebruyct en gheobserueert hebben dese naergenoemde en meer andere cloecke ende Ingenieuse Meesters / onveruarenArchitecteurs deser Nederlanden ter eeren / ais Meester P Floris / de vader van Gornelis Floris / Meester Jacques van Berghen / Meester Jan Gilgho / Meester Anthonis Mockaert /M. Jan de Heere / superalij Gornelis Floris / tot Luyck M. Thomas voor / Guilliaume Paludani / ende noch meer andere die ick niet en kenne / dan haer wercken wel betoonen / hun ingenie int bewijs der Architecturen, te weten / t' accommoderen naer gheleghentheyt deses Landts ghebruyckinghe en dienst / meer dan oyt de Antiquen van noode is gheweest / sulcr men in elck deel oft partije beuinden mach / en ondersoecken t'mijne om een beter." ("How well that the celebrated Vitruvius, Sebastiano Serlio, and the expert Jacques Androuet du Cerceau, [have] shown diverse sorts of Façades I Edifices/ Fronts or Gables/ following the antique Italian manners and customs in its Architecture and buildings / like one can [find] in their books and models [and in the books of] other Masters / following that countries' nature / [its'] character and use/ without cross windows /and [without] searching the big light ! nor high storeys / but broad and [with] few floors : But in these Low Countries one has a different condition / namely in cities with large trade / where place is small and expensive / one has to [search] in height for more comfort / to find much light / invent and search / each following its circumstances and site / it be large or small / [each must] search the most comfort and use of the Edifices or logics of Architecture and use it on his specific site / as have used and observed well these aforementioned and other brave and Ingenious Masters / and to honour fearless Architects of these Low Countries / like Master P. Floris / the father of Cornelis Floris / Master Jacques of Bergen / Master Jan Gilgho / Master Antonis Mockaert ! M. Jan de Heere / and above all Cornelis Floris / in Liège M. Thomas before / Guilliaume Paludanus / and many more that I do not know / but as their works show well / their ingenious in the Architecture, namely / to accomodate according to the customs and use of this Country / more than ever has been necessary for the Antiques / as one can find in each part or piece [of it] /and investigate my [example] to find a better one.")

52

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

Conclusion Vredeman's Architecturais part of the thriving 16th_century type of the pattern books, more specifically the type ufbooks on architecture which were published in Northern Europe in the wake of the success ofSerlio's fourth book.Vredeman's book does not address itselflike a full-bodied treatise to the erudite architectural or philosophical scholar - for which it does not have the theoretical calibre and thoroughness - but to the man of practice, the building master, the mason, the stonemason, the joiner and woodcarver and of course to all "Liebhabernn der Architecturen ".The information in Architectura is foremost visual: the text does not stand on its own but comments the plates. The exan1ple of Serlio IV is clearly present and the structure of Architectura is inspired by it. It has five chapters, one for each of the column orders butVredeman puts more the accent on the façade design plates presenting them two by two and by half in a systematical way (orthogonal projection). Wh en these illustrations are regrouped thematically, the book shows its dual structure with a column-part and a façade-part. These are almost completely independent from each other. They address to a different clientele and have a different purpose. The column part addresses to the 'non-architects' and is only a variation or complcmcntation of already well-known theme: the column orders. It corresponds to the genre of the column-books.The façade-part focuses more directly on architects, building masters and also commissioners' (with the accent on the first two) and apparently answers to a contemporary demand and problem: how to apply the orders and columns in façades, or in other words, how to design façades using the orders? Vredeman considers his façades not as 'patronen', which should be copied exactly, but as inspiring examples.The façade-partis then an instructive pattern book. He reserves the title of'Architect' no longer exclusively to the elite of Court architects or Italian experts on fortifications.Vredeman's 'Architect' is tightly bound to all design aspects of a building, façade as well as plan and interna! organisation and should pay large attention to the particularities of the actual building site. His concept of the ,Architect' cornes very close to the practice of the traditional late Gothie building masters within the guild, with this difference that the 'Architect' designs in 'the antique way'. Vredeman's Architectura clearly devides into two distinct parts: the 'book' of the five orders on one hand and the 'book' of the façades on the other. The book on columns is thoroughly systematic in its approach and in the way the columns are represented. For each of the five orders, five different alternatives are shown. The difference between the alternatives lies in the proportions and in the secondary decoration, e.g. of the column shaft. This already implies Vredeman is nota defender of a rigorous canon in the use of the orders. ln their decoration as well as in their proportions the alternatives of one order overlap strongly with those of a previous or following order.As a consequence the capital is sometimes the only distinguishing feature. Certainly this aspect of overlapping orders was at the time not so much of a problem, as it now seems. The choice of the appropriate order in the entire design process was probably already taken before a model book like Vredeman's Architectura - in this case its 'book' of the five orders - was consulted.Vredeman does not pay much attention to the possible criteria for choosing the right order.The second part ofhis Architectura, i.e. the 'book' of the façades, illustrates that this choice is not made according to the Christian or worldly symbolism of Vitruvius, Serlio and Coecke. Implicitly the decisive factor in the choice of a column for a façade is determined by its capacity to provide the desired amount of prestige to the building. This column-prestige lies in some visual elements like the capital and the shaft itself of the column. The most simple façades in the second part of the book are exclusively in the Doric order and this order is moreover reduced to some fragments and its frieze. The Ionie order skips these more simple façades and goes directly to more opulent city houses and even more prestigious programmes. The order itself is visually more present than the Doric one, but is still frequently 'mutilated'. The Ionie capital is nevertheless systematically present in one way or another and \Vell recognisable.The Corinthian order is reserved only to the 'pre-

53

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

. ~-·'" .. ~

.. "'·~.!::~,

J__________ .. '_

5. The House of Frans Floris after a 19'h-century drawing by Joseph Linnig

mier league' of building programmes and, when used, is always displayed in its full glory: ail composing elements are present from shaft to capital. Both have apparent power of prestige. A principal statement inVredeman's Architecturais that traditional architectural solutions should be taken into account, not because of formal or visual aspects - though it is clear this is actually the case in many of Vredeman's façades as shown in this article - but mainly and, at least from a theoretical viewpoint, because of climatologie (cornfort) and economic conditions. 38 This viewpoint is not new. In his fourth book on Architecture, Serlio presents Venetian palace façades and notes:

38

Sorne fondamental remarks regarding Vredeman's statement rise. Firstly he represents exclusively large façades, which are to be built on large plots ofland. In the existing parce! patterns of mediaeval cities in the Low Countries, plots were narrow and deep with only a small side on the street.Vredeman's broad façades are thus a particularly expensive way of building since a commissioner needs two or more plots. Secondly many ofVredeman's façades have only t:wo storeys and are thus by far not as high as the traditional city centre house in, for example, Antwerp where four storey

54

houses were no exception. Apparently the example of the Renaissance house of painter Frans Floris, designed by his successful brother Cornelis Floris, was stronger to Vredeman than his own theoretical statement (see Fig.5). Frans Floris's House was built near the center of Antwerp in the Arenbergstraat (Gasthuisbempden) (see Fig.6). On the other hand Vredeman systcmatically uses great storeys heights, stone cross-windows, and respects many of the existing forms and types, like demonstrated in this article.

THEORY AND EXAMPLE

6. Plan of the City of Antwerp at the time of Vredeman de Vries, 1582. Engraving from: W Baudartius, Ajbeeldinghe, ende beschrijvinghe van aile de veld-slagen ...ghevallen in de Nederlanden,Amsterdam, 1615,p.162, no. 15

"Inde edele Stadt van Venegie-, om datse nauwe gehuyst siJn moete- haer light scheppe- waer datse conne, also dat haer timmerige seer different is by die va- Italie- " ("in the noble city of Venice, because they are narrowly housed, [they] must catch light where they can, and thus their buildings are much different from those in Italy") .39 The notion of a certain architectural 'independence' from the Italian Renaissance existed equally in contemporary French Renaissance treatises. 40 T his occurs most clearly in publications ofJacques Androuet du Cerceau.Vredeman explicitly refers to du Cerceau but places him on one line with Vitruvius and Serlio as the 'famous' masters who are oriented "naer de antiquiteyte Italiaense maniere en ghebruyc haerder Architecturen" ("towards the antique Italian way and tradition of architecture") and therefore cannot simply be copied in the completely different context of the Low Countries. 41 Hence the 'raison d'être' of his own treatise.

R. Rolf, o.c., 1978, p.H.Iv,r.1 - 2. H.-W Kruft, o.c., 1985, pp.133-4. H .Vredeman de Vries, o.c. , 1577 (1581), Dorica 6, r.5153. Apparently Vredeman does not distinguish the French

39 40 41

from the Italian Renaissance architecture, which could indicate a distinct French influence in the passing on ofRenaissance forms from Italy towards the Low Countries.

55

ARCHITECTURAL AND TECHNICAL EXAMPLES: BETWEEN ANTIQUE MODERNITY AND GOTHIC TRADITION

Dieter A. Nuytten

Introduction

Though the influence oNredeman's many engravings and publications on northern Renaissance architecture is thoroughly studied and widely accepted, the architecture displayed by Vredeman in his work has not often been subjected to further scrutiny. Questions like what exactly is presented and what has influencedVredeman's architectural images remain largely unanswered.The same goes for the designs for façade architecture presented in his 1577 treatise on architecture Architectura Oder Bauung aufs dem Vitruuius ... .1 In the question about the actual architectural value ofhis engravings,Vredeman was long overshadowed by the icons ofNetherlandish Mannerism, like Cornelis Floris, Lieven de Key or Hendrik de Keyser, ail of whom actually built their designs. In Art History the practicability of the designs of these latter artists and architects therefore is never putto question. But not so forVredeman. In the following paragraphs, the architecture ofVredeman's façades in his 1577 Architectura is closely studied and analysed, focussing foremost on his designs for residential buildings, since here Vredeman's concerns on the feasibility and workability are most clear. 2 Moreover this type of façades constitutes the vast majority of the designs in Architectura: ofhis 23 façade proposals, 19 have a n1ore or less residential fonction. ln our study, questions are asked ofhowVredeman deals with practical aspects and technical matters. Which building materials are used and how does the functional programme of the building relate to its interior, and to the distribution of the rooms and the organisation of the circulation? It will be made clear that in his 1577 ArchitecturaVredeman puts great effort in forging close links between traditional local practice on one hand and some modernising innovations on the other. 3 This is unveiled by our close study ofboth the text and the illustrations in the treatise. These modernisation of existing typologies and innovative adaptations as well as some new architectural and technical features and solutions are treated in this article.

Vredeman's façade designs

The way in which Vredeman presents his façades suggests that they are perfectly symmetrical and that they are only shown in half. In his text,Vredeman mentions repeatedly he only shows half of the design: "elc maer een helft van d 'middel" or "2. helften wter oorden Dorica ", "twee halve d 'weersche Monteyen" or even more specifically "elc in de helft gheteeckent ". 4 To complete these façades with their other half seems then a logical thing to do. They are more legible and some aspects even appears which other-

1 D. Nuytten., Hans

Vredeman de Vries' ,,Architectura Oder Bauung der Antiquen aufs dem Vitruuius, ... " - Analyse en evaluatie van een architekturaal voorbeeldenboek van de 1ëe eeuw, 2 vols. (unpublished dissertation University of Leuven), 1994. 2 Ibid., vol.1,pp.176-202. 3 See also K. De Jonge, 'Vitruvius,Alberti and Serlio: architectural treatises in the Low Countries', in: V. Hart and P Hicks (eds.), Paper Palaces. The Rise of the Renaissance Architectural Treatise, (New Haven - London, 1998), p.288.

4

H.Vredeman de Vries, ARCHITECTURA Oder Bauung der Antiquen aufs dem Vitruuius .. . , (Antwerp, 1581, 1577 1), namely in the text with Dorica 7, r.8 and in Dorica 8, r.1: (,,elc maer een helft van d'middel"); in Dorica 10, r.10; Dorica 12, r.9 (,,2.helften wter oorden Dorica''); Ionica 14, r.7 (,,twee halve d 'weersche Monteyen "); Ionica 14, r.12; Ionica 14, r.17; Corinthia 21 r.26-27 (,,elc in de helftgheteeckent''). D. Nuytten, o.c., vol.1, pp.65-6 and vol.2, pp.261-86.

57

ARCHITECTURAL AND TECHNICAL EXAMPLES

wise would remain unnoticed. But still one has to be carefol not to jump to conclusions: it is for instance not clear whether some façades really have two symmetrical front doors or only one. Sorne buildings have towering volumes on one sicle: it remains uncertain whether a twin should be imagined on the opposite sicle of the building. Plans of ground floors are in this way also vulnerable to hasty conclusions: although the mirroring effect reveals a perfectly symmetrical distribution of rooms one has to be conscious that this remains un certain and that the text do es not offer any information on this matter. 5 It is with this remark in mind that the 'symmetrically-completed designs' have to be approached. Each of the different column orders can folfil a different building programme. Under the Tuscan order, V redeman presents a series of rather harsh applications for engineering construction in the 16th_century meaning of the word, namely bridges and fortresses. 6 For the Tuscan order, Vredeman does not give as many examples as for the other orders. He indeed states in his introduction that is not necessary to write a new publication on such designs since Hans van Schille (1515-1586) already did so.7 Then, for the following orders, Vredeman gives many examples for façades for different building programmes. The prestige of the programme mounts together with the prestige of the order itself. The façades executed in Corinthian order are more impressive and have more splendour than the Doric ones, and the fonction of the building follows. 8 When the 23 different façades are grouped following the fonction of the building, only four groups appear: (urban) houses, residences for the nobility, town halls and church portals. Within the group of urban houses a clear gradation in wealth and prestige exists between the different façades. This kind of fonctional and even social classification is not present in Serlio 's fourth book. It is reminiscent of the Livre d 'Architecture (Paris 1559), the first book on Architecture ofJacques Androuet du Cerceau. This should be more than a coincidence sin ce Vredeman mentions du Cerceau twice, once even in the opening verse. 9 Du Cerceau's Livre d'Architecture itselfis believed to lean on the manuscripts of Serlio 's unpublished sixth book, in which dwellings were presented "from the most humble shelter to the most opulent palace" .10

Façades for the urban Renaissance house. Under both Doric and Ionie order,Vredeman presents an number of'smaller' façades, that have a lot in common with each other and can be recognised as a homogeneous group: plate 7, 8, 10 (right), 14 and 15. They ail show 'broad' façades, parallel to the street in opposition to the traditional city houses in the Low Countries that are narrow on the street sicle, but very deep and of considerable height. 11 Ail façades, except for the one on the left sicle

5 Sorne aspects of these plans are studied further on in this text. 6 D. Nuytten, o.c., vol.1, pp.121-23. 7 P. Lombaerde and Ch. Van den Heuvel, 'Hans Vredeman de Vries en de technische kunsten', in: H. Borggrefe et al. (eds.), Tussen stadspaleizen en luchtkastelen. Hans Vredeman de Vries en de Renaissance, (Ghent-Amsterdam, 2002),pp. 11623. 8 D. Nuytten, o.c., vol.1, pp.118-75. 9 ,, Totten discreten Leser ... -- Vitruuius den experten excellenten Architect, heeft -- Rome verchiert / en griecken is vol sijnder wercken -- Jacobus Androuetus, t 'sijne oock, vlijt veel perfect, gheeft - Elek in sijn distansie / soomen wel can mercken: -- Sebastiano Serlio, der voornaemsten Vitruuius clercken -- Ben / daer hem Peter cock vanAelst toe refereert / -- Hun sciencien blijckt / aen d 'Edificien t 'sy Palleysen oft Kercken -- / Dwelck hem al meest met Vitruuius confirmeert/ -- T'is een excellente Conste / dwelck sijnen meester laudeert. " (Vitruvius the expert [and] excellent

58

Architect, has -- decorated Rome / and Greece is full ofhis works -- JacobusAndrouetus, his [work] also, diligence much perfect, give -- Each in his [ownJ distance / so one can notice well: -- Sebastiano Serlio, the main ofVitruvius clercks -(And) / that to him Peter Cock from Aelst refers / - Their science appears / on the Edifices, it be galleries or Churches / -- Which one confirms [himself] most to Vitruvius / - It is an excellent art / that lauds its master) lO Serlio intended to show in his sixth book how to implement ,,la buonaArchitettura" into the local French ,,modo di Franza". In his (unpublished) sixth book façades and plans are represented. A facsimile is published by M. N. Rosenfeld, Sebastiano Serlio on Domestic Architecture - Different Dwellings from the Meanest Havel to the Most Ornate Palace (New York, 1978) and more recently:V Hart and P. Hicks (eds.), Sebastiano Serlio on Architecture. Vol. 2 / books VI and VII, .. ., (New Haven - London, 2001), pp.1-157. 11 D. Nuytten, o.c., vol.1, pp.124-30

ARCHITECTURAL AND TECHNICAL EXAMPLES

of plate 10, have a large central gate, which is architecturally accentuated by a sort of portico drawn in a frontal perspective. The façades have two full storeys, completed in some cases with a storey in the roof, illuminated by dormer windows or windows in an occasional central gable. Only the façade shown on plate 10 (right) has a normal but lower third floor. The shape and volume of the roof reveals that these buildings are often freestanding (plate 10, 14 and 15 on the left).The façades show large numbers of broad high windows, mostly stone cross-windows. The small wall piers are rarely decorated. Pilasters or columns are a rarity in this group ofhouses, apart from the façade on plate 15 (left). Sometimes consoles are present. The centre of the house is systematically accentuated, either by larger wall parts decorated with niches (plate 10, right), decorative elements, or a combination ofboth. The Ionie façades of this group have a central part rising high above the cornice. This is clearly not the case for the Doric bouses, indicating that the Ionie order is only used on buildings, which have already a more prestigious programme by themselves. The use of the Ionie order than, vice versa, adds to this prestige. 12 The text to some of these façades indicates they all are urban dwellings. Vredeman does not describes the interior of the bouses, since he considers it to be left to the architect or master mason:

" ... de trappen eft ander nootlijcke servissen / ais Privaten / Garderobbe / hangende camers eft slaepcamers / en canmen alhier te lande subiecten maken / eft stellen: maer dat moet elc vertandich Architecte ende bouwmeester ten besten na sijn gheleghen gront en plaetse accomoderen / en te passe brenghen / ... "(Dorica 10, r.20-25) (" ... the stairs or other necessary services / like Privates [= toilets] / wardrobe ! hanging rooms or sleeping rooms / eau all be made here in this land / or put: but that each sensible Architect and master mason must at his best accommodate after the specific grounds and place / and adapt / ... ") The fonction of the large central entrance gate can be deduced from the short description of the right façade on plate 10.Vredeman describes it as a "free gateway" ( "vrijen deurganc") .13 It opens to a sort of inner courtyard ( "plaetse", "hef" or "eif") from which cellars or (other) bouses are accessible ( "kelders eft huysen "). There is also a gallery running around it, as large as the staircase tower. It remains unclear whether this courtyard is completely private or more a sort of semi-public place. It is normal that cellars are accessible from the courtyard: important city bouses at that time had an underground floor with one or more vaulted cellars which were accessible from the outside via a trapdoor. By this way they could combine different fonctions: storage room for merchandise, workshop, kitchen, shop, pub or even stable for domestic animals.

The house of Frans Floris in Antwerp. Many of the characteristics of Vredeman's city houses remind us of the house Cornelis Floris, architect of the façade of the Antwerp Town Hall, designed for his brother, the successful Renaissance painter Frans Floris, who has been the pupil of the famous painter Lambert Lombard from Liège. 14 Like many oNredeman's façades, Floris's house stands parallel to the street. The few drawings of Frans Floris's hou se, which was demolished in the 19th century, show a two storey high building with reasonable high-pitched roof and small dormer windows.

12 In fact the prestige of the buildings relates to the prestige of the order. The buildings shown under the Doric order (ho uses) are less prestigious than th ose un der the Ionie (town halls) or Corinthian order (churches). Vredeman does not give specific examples for ,composite' buildings. The Tuseau buildings are ail utilitarian constructions. D. Nuytten, o.c., p.120.

H.Vredeman de Vries, o.c., 1581, 1577 1), Dorica 10, r.14 C.Van de Velde, Frans Floris (1519120-1570)-Leven en werken, (Brussels, 1975). R. Hedicke. Comelis Floris und die Florisdekoration - Studien zur niederliindische und deutsche Kunst im XVI.Jahrhundert, 2 vols., (Berlin, 1913), pp.1024. 13

14

59

ARCHITECTURAL AND TECHNICAL EXAMPLES

The façade was richly decorated with painted ornaments.The façade was 23 meters long and the building had a total height of around 15 meters. 15 Building works started before October 1562 and the house must have been largely completed in spring 1563. lt had a large gate, probably a carriageway 16 at the sicle of the building. The same concept we find with Vredeman is present here: an accentuated central portal, formed by a projecting architrave on two supporting elements visually extended by vaselike decorative ornaments. 17 The façade ofFloris's house displays a rigorous symmetry, apart from the extra gateway on the extreme right, with a central portal and two secondary front doors, just like in many ofVredeman's designs. Apart from the general layout, many details in Floris's façade can also be found on Vredeman's façade designs. The Doric aspect of the ground floor for example is indicated only by the portico columns and the typical Doric entablature. The main feature of the second, Ionie floor is the window frames: they have a pedestal and an Ionie capital stretched out over the whole width of the window. Also the architrave projects here.The windows are in other words the Ionie 'columns', the strong accentuated and regulating elements of the Ionie order in the façade compositions. Normally pilasters or columns are the 'strong' elements in a façade and the window openings are the 'weaker' element. Here, in a mannerist way, this scheme is reversed. An identical Ionie window element appears also on some ofVredeman's houses (plate 14 and plate 15, both on the right).This indicates Frans Floris's house was influential for the group of ho uses Vredeman's displays. There is one important difference however,Vredeman's façades have a less closed character and contain a lot more and much larger window openings than in Floris's house, so more light can flood in. 18 On the interior distribution of Frans Floris's house, nothing is known, so this cannot clarify the interiors of Vredeman's ho uses. Karel Van Mander writes about Frans Floris's house:

" ... dat Frans een stuk weiland kocht in de Gasthuisbeemde, waarop hij een buitengewoon mooie woning bouwde, waarvoor hij zijn broer Cornelis als architect nam. Dit huis ef paleis had poorten en pilaren van grauwe arduin in den trant van de antieken, zodat het bouwen ervan de opbrengst van het andere huis verslond, al zijn [= Frans Floris] baar geld en 5 000 gulden die hij op de bank van de Jamilie Schets had staan, terwijl hij nog zoveel mogelijk geld opnam ". 19 (" ... That Frans bought a plot of grassland in the Gasthuisbecmdc [=name of the street], on which he built a remarkably beautiful house, for which he took his brother Cornelis as the architect. This house or palace had gates and pillars [made of] blue stone in the way of the antiques, so that the building of it consumed the profit of the other house, ail his cash money and the 5000 guilders he had on the bank of the family Schets, while he took up as much money as possible." This immediately illustrates the expensive character of Vredeman's façades. Even the most sober and austere of his (Doric) designs are by their nature expensive residences for wealthy citizens. The mere concept of a long façade alongside the street leads to the necessity to acquire a large plot of land, or probably two or more traditional narrow plots ofland since in cities of the Low Countries the allotment typically shows deep, narrow parcels perpendicular to the street. Deeds of sale indeed clarify that Frans Floris bought two plots in the new street traced by capitalist property developer Gilbert van Schoonbeke in his 'New Town' ofAntwerp.After having built his marvellous little palace, the success-

15 This estimation is made on the assumption that the small entrance doors were some 80cm wide. 16 Hedicke mentions a ,,Durchfahrtsachse": a ,,deurganc" cf. Vrcdcman. 17 The way in which this central portico is designed reminds ofVredeman's designs for chimneypieces. 18 ForVredeman the large and high windows are an impor-

60

tant aspect of traclitional building practice in the Low Countries that must be preserved when building in a Renaissance architectural vocabulary. This will be studied in detail further on in this article. l 9 K.Van Mander, Het Schilder Boek- Het leven der doorluchtige Nederlandse en Hoogduitse schilders (Amsterdam, 1950), pp.10816.

ARCHITECTURAL AND TECHNICAL EXAMPLES

ful painter Frans Floris never recovered from his debts. 20 Building "in the style of the antiques" does not seem to be a cheap way of construction! Vredeman's façades for houses is probably to be seen in the context of the wealthy merchants of the extremely rich city of Antwerp in the period before its harbour and the river Schelde were blocked during the wars of Religion. 21 Maybe they were meant to be built in the new streets ofVan Schoonbeke's New Town that was developed from 1548 onwards. Plans of the city illustrate indeed that around the middle of the 17th century large parts of the "Nieuwstad" were still empty and building space was still available within the city walls. 22

The hanging 'cantoorken'. On plate 16 two impressive Ionie façades are shown (folio 16, left and right). The fonction of these buildings is not described in the text and no ground plan is provided. They could be the façade of a town hall or a city palace. The size of the access of the right façade and the presence of the little bow window ab ove it thatV redeman calls "cantoorken oft hangende camerken JI ("the little office or hanging room") could indicate these are large residences, maybe of a banker or a wealthy merchant. With Jlhangende camer" a sort of split-level is meant in a high room of a merchant house. 23 Such kind of "cantoorken" is also present on the house on plate 10 (right),just above the front door next to the central gate. This bouse is explicitly called a "wooninghe" (,,dwelling"). Just as bedrooms, toilets, staircases, etc. such "cantoorken" is a standard feature of many large city houses. 24 It was mostly a sort of small 'cabinet', a very private room to study, count money or where collected objects and valuables were kept. It later changed into a showcase of precious objects. The word is believed to be related to ,,contoir" (Brabant) or ,,comptoir" (France). The elevation of the façades reminds of the Antwerp Town Hall. Above the entrance on roof level the almost obligatory architectural accent is present: a large aedicula in the form of a triumphal arch with triangular pedirnent. The residences of princes and potentates. A second important functional group are the façades which in the text are systematically referred to as residences for a "Prince oft Heere van auctoriteyt oft macht" (,,a Prince or Lord of authority or power"). 25 In other words the social top-layer of 16th century society: the ruling class of nobility or ail who counts him or herself as such. The façades are presented on plates 9, 12 (left and right), 18 (left and right) and 20 (lcft and right) .Vredeman describes their functional programme as a sort of pleasure house: JI Speelhuysen van playsantien" and they can be built inside as well as outside the city gates. 26 Two different types ofbuildings can be distinguished. On one hand the group of three isolated pavilion types of buildings on plates 9 and 20 (left and right, with ground plan on plate 22, respectively ,,A2" and ,,A1 ").They have a clearly defined façade, with two storeys high and a saddle roof. On the ground floor there is a gallery, which is interrupted by one or more projecting parts of the façade. The gallery is limited in length and does not occupy the entire ground floor level of the façade: it serves as a link between the building and a garden (plate 9) or ,, een-

20

C.Van de Velde, o.c., 1975, pp.38-41. The port was reopened only in the beginning of the 19th century by French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte who wanted to reorganise Antwerp into a military port against England. 22 R. Tijs, Tot Cieraet deser Stadt - Bouwtrant en bouwbeleid te Antwerpen van de middeleeuwen tot heden (Antwerp, 1993), pp.200-11. 23 In some houses in Antwerp, traces of a ,,hangende camer" (suspended room or rnezzanine) are slill present: it is a srnall room that is literally suspended on a large tie beam in a high place. D. Nuytten and D., Steenmeyer, 'Drie 16de_eeuwse huizen in het hart van Antwerpen. De restauratie van Sint21

Bernaert, Sint-Dominicus en Sint-Erasmus', APLUS, 4, (1998), pp.38-41. 24 See:,, ... de trappen / hangende camers [= cantoorken, see text Ionica 16, r.17] oft slaepcamers ! .. . dat moet elc verstandichArchitect ende bouwmeester ten beste na sijnen gheleghen gront rift plaetse accomoderen / ... " (Dorica 10, r.20-25). 2 5 D. Nuytten, o.c., pp. 131-41. 26 A ,hof van plaisantie' was mostly erected outside the gates of the city as a kind of pavilion destined to sumptuous feasts, hunting parties, garden picnics and sorts. Around Antwerp and other mayor cities in the Low Countries, many of the 16'h century ,, huysen van playsantien" are still preserved.

61

ARCHITECTURAL AND TECHNICAL EXAMPLES

der grooten plaetsen oft voorhof" (,,a large place or courtyard", plate 20). Many of these types of buildings occur in Vredeman's series on perspective, like the Scenographiae. On the other hand, a group of four additional monumental buildings is presented on plates 12 and 18. Here the façades are higher (three storeys) and their delimitations are not at ail indicated on the plates: it is as if they could easily be enlarged with more bays on either sicle. An important feature of this group of buildings is their gallery, which occupies the complete ground floor. In his text to folio 12 Vredeman very meaningfully writes "elc mach de gaelderye overhoec keeren" (,,each can turn the gallery around the corner"). 27 This means that this group of façades is meant to be used around an inner courtyard, and an Italian ,cortile' can thus be developed. The main characteristic feature these two different groups of buildings have in common is the gallery:

" ... dwelc men op dese maniere in Architectura en bouwinghe van groote heeren Palleysen oft hoven sou moghen ghebruycken / ooc op eenighe Speelhuysen van playsantien moghen stellen / daer eenighe lusthouinghe voor sou mogen comen / orn daer in te wandelen: ... "(Corinth. 18, r.3-7) (,, ... which one could use in this manner in Architecture and buildings of great lords' Palaces or courts / also could put on some Playhouses of pleasure / where some pleasure gardens could be placed in front / to take a walk in: ... ") The gallery indeed does not appear on any othcr type of the buildingsVrcdeman demonstrates. He writes:

" ... / en alsoomen hier te lande seer int ghebruyc heeft / by die van eenige macht of reputatie sijn / van grooten beslage commoderen en haer bauwinghe / hun gronden al in eenige manieren /met eenighe gaelderijen / tsy op hun houen / oft plaetsen daert hun belieft gheleghen ende plaisant is." (Dorica 9, r.5-10) (,, ... ! and as it is very common in this land / with whom is of some power or reputation ! and ornate their buildings / their grounds in equal ways / with some galleries / it be in their courts/ or in places where it pleases them and is pleasurable"). Galleries can indeed almost systematically be found in many of the late mediaeval residences in the Low Countries. In the years between 1480 and 1530 many castles and city palaces were enlarged and modernised. Many new elements were introduced in the old structure of the buildings. One of these new elements was indeed the gallery that was placed alongside the main wings. Two types of galleries were added to the older buildings: the service gallery for servants who had to serve the different halls or apartments on one hand, and the pleasant walking gallery along the garden or towards large courtyards as a complement to the representative rooms on the other. 28 Sorne prestigious examples in Brabant are the former ducal Palace in Brussels (Paleis op de Coudenbergh), the Palace of Margaret

27

H.Vredeman de Vries, o.c., 1577 (1581), Dorica 12, r.1920. 28 Apart from these galleries, another new feature that already appeared in Brabant in the 15th century was the combination of rooms that were placed one after the other having each a ùilferenl funclion. Laler on these rooms were called ,apartment'. There were private rooms as well as staterooms. In the residences of the Dukes of Burgundy, the functional and organizational sequence of these rooms was dictated by

62

the ceremonial protocol in vigour at the Court of Burgundy. K. De Jonge, 'De Europese Context' in: Het Paleis van Brussel- Acht eeuwen kunst en geschiedenis, (exhibition catalogue), (Brussels, 1991 ), pp.161-72; R. Meischke and F. Van Tyghem, 'Huizen en hoven gebouwd onder leiding van Anthonis I en Rombaut II', in: J.H. Van Mosselveld (ed.), Kelderrnans Ben architectonisch netwerk in de Nederlanden, ( The Hague, 1987), pp.131-54.

ARCHITECTURAL AND TECHNICAL EXAMPLES

of Austria in Mechelen, the Markiezenhof in Bergen-op-Zoom. 29 But a completely new type of gallery was also introduced during the 16th cemury in the Low Countries' palaces of the nobility, namely the gallery that runs along the four sicles of an inner courtyard. Early examples are the Palace of the Prince Bishop of Liège (started 1526), the Castle ofBreda30 (started 1536), the Castle ofBoussu (started 1539 after designs of Jacques Dubroeucq).31 By adding galleries to his designs for palace façades, Vredeman continues an existing tradition dating from the late Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance. The first group mentioned above (a gallery opening to a garden or a large open space) follows the tradition of the late mediaeval walking gallery. The second group mentioned ab ove also has some prestigious precedents in the Low Countries. If we look closely at the architecture presented on the plates, three different gallery systems can be distinguished based on how the actual physical load of the façade is transferred to the ground and how the columns and the arches are visually combined. In the galleries of the first group, freestanding round columns support the arches and carry the load.Above these columns there are extra consoles without any stability fonction: they support visual- 1. Comparison of the structure and architectural details of difi:èrent ly the entablature (see Fig.1). Examples of such gal- galleries in Vredeman's Architectura (Antwerp, 1577) leries (the so called 'Florentine gallery') are present in Serlio's third and fourth book.This type of gallery was already used in the Low Countries, e.g. in Breda and is still very similar to the Gothie scheme. Examples for Vredeman's extra consoles are harder to find: they do not appear in Serlio's fourth book. 32 Their presence might be explained by the logic of the order itself - the entablature needing a support? - or it could be a mannerist variation of the first of the following two types.

29

Here the galleries are indeed additions to the late mediaeval palace scheme. Other large city palaces like the House ofBusleyden in Mechelen (c.1500-10, or the Ho use ofLiere in Antwerp (c.1520), were built in one short and continuo us building period and the gallery there forms an integrated part of the original plan. 30 M. D. Ozinga, 'De strenge Renaissanceslijl in de Nederlanden naar de stand van onze tegenwoordige kennis', Bulletin en Nieuwsbulletin van de Koninklijke Oudheidkundige Bond, 15, (1962),pp.9-34

31

M. Cappouillez, 'Historique et description des châteaux de Boussu, Binche et Mariemont' , in: Jacques Du Broeucq, sculpteur et architecte de la Renaissance, (exhibition catalogue), (Brussels, 1985), pp.177-90. 32 The consoles are present on both levels of the so-called ,,Palazetto" at the Palazzo Venezia in Rome (c.1455-71), but iL is very uncerlain Vredeman coulJ have known this Italian example. Maybe Vredeman's motif can be linked with the Gothie foliage capital, which was sometimes placed under the supports of a Gothie arcade?

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In the galleries of the second group, occupying the entire ground floor, Vredeman presents two different architectural schemes. Firstly the version in both Doric façades (plates 9 and 12) where the columns carry the actual physical load and are visually lengthened by oversized consoles (plate 12). Secondly the version of the very ,classical' gallery (the so-called 'Roman gallery') in both Corinthian façades where wall-piers carry the actual physical load of the arch. Here the imbedded half-columns or pilasters have only a visual fonction and go ail the way up to meet the architrave. Let us now study the gallery type on plate 12. It is not a 'Roman gallery', but it equally differs strongly from the 'Florentine gallery' because it has oversized consoles placed on top of the (Doric) columns. Moreover these consoles have their own pedestal and capital, which is characteristic of the consecutive, in particular the Ionie order.The console is therefore an independent order element. Where does this strong vertical elem.ent corne from? It is not present in Serlio's books nor is it used in earlier examples of Renaissance architecture in the Low Countries.Vredeman's inspiration rnight corne from traditional architecture: galleries where the columns are visually heightened by niches or statues are almost a standard featurc of prcstigious Bra2. Detail of galleries in the 1596 painting of Hans and his son Paul Vredeman de Vries Paleisarchitektuur met muzicerenden (Vienna, Kunst- bantine Gothie arcades, like in the Town Halls of Brussels or Oudenaerde. On the gallery of the forhistorisches Museum, inv. 2336) mer State Council Palace in Mechelen, complete composed pillars are used on this level. 33 Also in rood screens, having a sirnilar architectural layout, this feature is frequently present (the church of Brou, Sint- Gummarus in Lier). It appears equally in Vredeman's own paintings (see Fig.2).This Gothie principle oflengthened columns lived through in Renaissance formal language: in many rood screens statues are placed above the columns. In the St Cunare Church in Rhenen caryatids are placed on top of the capitals of the columns carrying visually the upper storey. Vredeman's double column arcade on the right of plate 12 is a more complex variation of the version on the left. The Doric columns are doubled. Vredeman calls the Ionie consoles ,, Termen "34 or

33 Around

1525 plans were made to give the Great Council, the highest central legal body which was founded by Duke Charles the Bold in Mechelen in 1474, a more prestigious and representative building. Mechelen was at that time the residence of the Governess Margaret of Austria and political centre of the Low Countries. Building activities started around 1526 but stopped again in 1546/47. The building remained unfinished for a long time and

64

shops were organised in the outer gallery. The building was finished only in 1900-10 following the original plans but according to many iconographie sources, the gallery was already completed in the 16'h- century building phase. F. Van Tyghern 'Bestuursgebouwen van Keldermans in Brabant en Vlaanderen', in:JH.Van Mosselveld (ed.), o.c., 1987, pp.105- 30. 34 H.Vredeman de Vries, o.c., 1577 (1581), Dorica 12, r. 15

ARCHITECTURAL AND TECHNICAL EXAMPLES

an abstract type of caryatids. Possible source ofinspiration is a gallery shown in Serlio IV where the vaulting plans are represented in the same way.This gallery type is use