Album amicorum of Juliana de Roussel
Unique within the Dutch alba is the black brocade band in which all kinds of floral motifs are incorporated.
Of the four women's albums in the Van Harinxma collection, this is without a doubt the most spectacular. The precious black brocade binding is unique and the fact that all the pages are made of parchment is an additional sign of luxury. However, the luxury is not limited to the exterior, because in addition to a very beautiful opening miniature, the album contains a colourful row of coats of arms, painted with great attention to detail. These diamond-shaped coats of arms are provided with ribbons that 'disappear' at the top of the page in the most meagre form, but usually actually hang somewhere: a painted ornament, a pair of putti, a loose branch or a complete tree.
The contributions of the Frisian stadtholder Ernst Casimir of Nassau, his wife and other members of the court lead one to assume that Juliana was a lady-in-waiting. In addition to the beautifully painted coats of arms of female writers, flowers are sometimes depicted, which often had a symbolic meaning. For example, a red rose stood for mildness and a white carnation for pure love.
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The shield-shaped female arms were depicted hanging. Here two cupids hold the arms of Susanna thoe Schwartzenberg.
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Van Kammingha provided her coat of arms with an edifying rhyme: whoever chooses the world over God loses everything upon death.
Even more strongly than the other three albums, Roussel's album shows the social network that was maintained between the Frisian noble ladies. It is striking that the contributions are generally very formal; naughty or not, references in rhyme and song form to the subject that predominately occupied the ladies, namely love, are absent.
Album amicorum of Juliana de Roussel. 67 contributions, 1616-1645, Friesland. Request number: 79 J 50
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Opening miniature: Venus (or Julia herself?) on a float, flanked by Cupid
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In Juliana van Liauckama's work, the coat of arms is part of an allegorical representation: two gentlemen reaching for the fruits in a tree, or in other words: seeking Juliana's love
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The most intriguing picture in the album: 'La dame au plumeau', with the mischievous verse: Bon vin, belle Dames et bonne viande / Pendu soijt il qui plus demande...
