Viervoudig schouwspel van wonderen
The Viervoudig schouwspel van wonderen is a book of cityscapes and landscapes by Johannes van Call. He drew the prints around 1700 during a trip along the Rhine from Schafhaussen to Amsterdam. The greatest wonder of this book is that the images are printed in color. It's one of the earliest experiments with multicolor printing.
Browse the book online
Korte Vijverberg, The Hague (coloured edition)
Admirandorum quadruplex spectaculum by Johannes van Call
The drawings in the Viervoudig schouwspel van wonderen were made by Johannes van Call (1656-1722), a Nijmegen artist who also worked extensively abroad. During a long journey to Rome, via Germany and Switzerland, he drew many beautiful landscapes and cityscapes.
The Amsterdam publisher and engraver Pieter Schenk (1660-1718), himself a German native, took a keen interest in Van Call's journey. He selected the 71 most beautiful prints and published them in book form. The book includes prints of the Rhine, Het Loo Palace, Honselaarsdijk, The Hague, and Amsterdam.
Korte Vijverberg, Den Haag (black and white edition)
The fifth wonder of the Schouwspel: multicolour printing
Technically the Schouwspel is a very special book. Until well into the nineteenth century, printing was limited to a single color. Black was usually the preferred color. If desired, the images were colored by hand after printing. This was a time-consuming and expensive process, and much experimentation took place with ways to print in multiple colors.
In 1688, Jan Teyler of Nijmegen patented a new method of printing in multiple colors simultaneously. This technique was called the "à la poupée technique," after the linen rollers used to apply the ink to the plates (in French: "poupée"). Essentially, the print on the copper plate was colored with different colors according to a fixed pattern: blue for sky and water, green for trees, brown for houses, red or blue for roofs. This allowed for a single print. Then the whole process began again. This method was almost as laborious as hand-coloring.
The multicolor printing technique had been known for some time, but Teyler further developed it and made it more widely known. He also created new color prints from many existing copper plates. The images show the beautiful effect his technique has on the images: the brown buildings, red roofs, and leafy trees contrast beautifully with the blue skies and water. The scenes become more vibrant.
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The waterfall at Schafhaussen, the starting point of the Rhine journey, folio 1r.
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The Keizersgracht in Amsterdam with the Westerkerk, folio 61r
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The IJ river in Amsterdam, seen from the Toll House, folio 55r
The sun-drenched world of Van Call
Van Call's prints depict a beautiful world. The streets are clean and the buildings are neat. The people walking along the streets and quays are well-dressed and wear wide-brimmed hats. Only very rarely does something suggest poverty, such as a beggar, appear in the picture below (see the image below, right at the front in the shadows).
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The Voorhout in The Hague. A rare example: a beggar asking alms from two well dressed gentlemen (folio 53r).
Hamerstein on the Rhine. At the bottom, a barge drawn by three horses (folio 15r)
The scenes resemble sun-drenched Sunday afternoons, with only clouds appearing to make the painting extra vibrant. Occasionally, a barge passes by, but otherwise, there's no work, only walking. The tranquility is soothing.
Het Viervoudig schouwspel van wonderen in the KB
The KB was able to acquire Admirandorum quadruplex in 1993 from Mrs. A.B. Loosjes-Terpstra. She was very keen for this book to come into the KB because she had made extensive use of the collection for her dissertation Moderne kunst in Nederland 1900-1914 (Utrecht 1958). The KB also received the notebook containing the results of her research (shelfmark 79 E 22). The book with the colorful engravings probably came from the family of Mrs. Loosjes's husband.
The KB also has a black-and-white copy (KW 234 M 20). Comparing the two copies clearly shows the difference.
Formal description of the book
Admirandorum quadruplex spectaculum / delectum, pictum, et aeri in cisum, per Johannem van Call. Petrus Schenck fecit, et exc: Amstelaedami ..., ca. 1694-1697
Shelfmark KW 2211 B 24.
References
- J.A. van Beers [et al.], Johannes Teyler. Nederlandse kleurendruk rond 1700. Nijmegen 1961.
- Marrigje Rikken, 'Vroege kleurendruk in Amsterdam. Een onbekend zeventiende-eeuws plaatwerk van Carel Allard', in: De Boekenwereld, 24 (2007/08) 4, p. 202-226.
- Marieke van Delft, ‘Admirandorum quadruplex spectaculum’, in: Stijl. Bijzondere aanwinsten van de Koninklijke Bibliotheek tijdens het directoraat van Wim van Drimmelen. Den Haag 2008.
- I.H. van Eeghen, 'Petrus Schenk en zijn "Afbeeldinge der voornaamste gebouwen van Amsterdam"', in: Amstelodamum, 66 (1974), p. 117-136.
- G.S. Keyes (comp.) en K.G. Boon (ed.), Pieter Schenck. Amsterdam 1981. (Hollstein's Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts ca. 1450-1700; 25).
- Ad Stijnman, Engraving and etching 1400-2000. A history of the development of manual intaglio printmaking processes. London/Houten 2012, p. 347-355.
- P. Vis, Jan van Call. Amsterdam 2012. Masterscriptie UvA.
