2.6 Simon de Passe’s Commission
Pieter Isaacsz had yet to die when Christian IV attracted a new force from the Dutch Republic, namely the engraver Simon de Passe (c. 1595-1647). This artist had already portrayed Francis Bacon [1] and Christian’s sister, Queen Anne [2], in London. It is therefore possible that Anne recommended this young and skillful artist to her brother. De Passe was at first active at the Danish court as portrait engraver [3], and we would have no grounds to pay particular attention to him in this capacity, had he not helped disseminate Dutch art in other ways. Kronborg Castle had burned down in 1629 and was reconstructed by Hans van Steenwinckel II in the following years. The need therefore arose to devise the interior décor anew. In 1637 Christian IV, who envisioned decorating the castle with paintings celebrating the deeds of his ancestors, entrusted Simon de Passe with the direction of this enterprise. He had to have the various events sketched at once and then to commission the subjects from Dutch painters.
1
Simon de Passe
Portrait of the scholar Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet, inv./cat.nr. RP-P-1911-709
2
Simon de Passe published by John Sudbury and George Humble
Portrait of Anne of Denmark (1574-1619), queen of England, dated 1617
London (England), British Museum, inv./cat.nr. O.7.252
3
Simon de Passe
Portrait of King Christian IV, dated 1629
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. KKSgb4887
The sketchbook, containing more than 80 drawings, has survived (in the print cabinet in Copenhagen).1 De Passe was later to engrave the drawings, complete with text. We learn that he drew on his home town of Utrecht for collaborators. The lion’s share was secured by his brother Crispijn van de Passe II, who came to Copenhagen for the purpose [4-33].2
4
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Pagan procession leading German gods and humans for sacrifice out of a town
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-1
5
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Human and animal sacrifices for pagan gods
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-2
6
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Divination by priestesses using human entrails, dated 1639
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-3
7
Crispijn de Passe (II)
The Cimbrians defeating the Romans
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-5
8
Crispijn de Passe (II)
A King sacrificing an animal in front of a statue of Thor, dated 1639
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-4
9
Crispijn de Passe (II)
The Cimbrians plundering fallen Romans during the siege of a bridge, dated 1639
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-6
10
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Cimbrian Cavalry crossing the river Adige, dated 1639
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-7
11
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Roman prisoners of war are set free after swearing an oath on a copper ox
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-8
12
Crispijn de Passe (II)
The Roman Legatus Scaurus is executed by Bolus, leader of the Cimbrians, dated 1639
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-9
13
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Emperor Augustus receives a copper kettle from Cimbrian ambassadors
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-10
14
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Emperor Louis the Pious receives Harold Klak in 826
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-19
15
Crispijn de Passe (II)
The Danes make peace with King Burhedus of Mercia in Nottingham
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-21
16
Crispijn de Passe (II)
King Athelstane of England sends a sword to King Harold the Blond of Norway
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-22
17
attributed to Crispijn de Passe (II)
Duke Rollo is granted Normandy in 911; in the background Paris
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-23
18
attributed to Crispijn de Passe (I)
The Danish fighter Tymme Sjaellandsfar encourages the retreating army in Engeland in 1017, 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-25
19
Crispijn de Passe (II)
The death of Bishop William of Roskilde
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-26
20
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Knud Lavard befriends Duke Hendrick of the Wends
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-28
22
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Radulf protects Roskilde against the Wends
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-30
21
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Harald Gille proofs in a Trial by ordeal to be the son of the Norvegian King Magnus Barfod, dated 1639
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-29
23
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Cavalry battle
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-31
24
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Christian I occupies Gotland in 1449 (?), dated 1639
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-34
25
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Queen Philippa protects Copenhagen from the Hanseatic fleet in 1428
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-35
26
Crispijn de Passe (II)
King Hans in the Battle of Rotebro near Stockholm in 1497
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-36
27
Crispijn de Passe (II)
King Frederick I of Denmark inspects the fortifications of Copenhagen in 1523
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-39
28
Crispijn de Passe (II)
King Christian I of Denmark meets Prince Maximilian near Rothenburg in 1474, dated 1639
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-37
29
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Cavalry battle near Maastricht
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-42
30
Crispijn de Passe (II)
The double Royal betrothals and weddings in 1502
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-41
31
Crispijn de Passe (II)
The conquest of Liège in 1577
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-43
32
attributed to Crispijn de Passe (II)
Rollo besieges Lisbon
Stockholm, Nationalmuseum, inv./cat.nr. NMH 353/1973
33
Crispijn de Passe (II)
Baptism scene, baptism of an adult King, after 1637
Berlin (city, Germany), Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, inv./cat.nr. Kdz 2829
Gerard van Honthorst drew a whole series of subjects [34-43],3
34
Gerard van Honthorst
Uffe, son of King Vermund, defeats two Saxons on an island in the Eider, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-12
35
Gerard van Honthorst
The election of a king in a clearing in the woods, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-13
36
Gerard van Honthorst
King Frode Fredegod of Denmark honoured by other kings, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-14
38
Gerard van Honthorst
King Jarmeric orders the torture of the imprisoned Wends, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-16
37
Gerard van Honthorst
King Ingild Vendemod kills the murderers of his father at a banquet, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-15
39
Gerard van Honthorst
The mourning of Rolf Krake's death, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-18
40
Gerard van Honthorst
Harold Klak and his family are baptized in Mainz, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-20
41
Gerard van Honthorst
The Entry of King Valdemar Atterdag in Visby in 1361, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-32
42
Gerard van Honthorst
King Albrecht hands over the Swedish crown to Queen Margaret I of Denmark, 1389, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-33
43
Gerard van Honthorst
Homage to King Valdemar II of Denmark in Lübeck, 1202, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-44
and Abraham Bloemaert [44], Jan van Bijlert [45], Simon Peter Tilman [46],4 Adam Willaerts [47], Nicolaes Knüpfer [48] and, remarkably, Palamedes Palamedesz I [49] each rendered several others.
33
Abraham Bloemaert
The ordeal by fire of Bishop Poppo, c. 1637-1639
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. TU 121-24
33
Jan van Bijlert
Rolf Krake's endurance put to the test, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-17
33
Simon Peter Tilman
King Erik Ejegod of Denmark received in Constantinople by the Byzantine Emperor in 1103, dated 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-27
33
Adam Willaerts
King Christian II leaves Copenhagen in 1523, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-38
33
Nicolaes Knüpfer
King Skjold defeats the giant Skate in a duel and obtains Alvida as a bride, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-11
33
Palamedes Palamedesz. (I)
The battle of Åstorp (Axtornia) in 1565, after 1637
Copenhagen, SMK - The Royal Collection of Graphic Art, inv./cat.nr. Tu 121-40
Notes
1 [Van Leeuwen 2015] Though De Passe was required to have 80 drawings made, ‘only’ 47 drawn designs are known. Of the 15 currently-known paintings that were rendered after the series, the disegni for only four could be traced (Schepelern/Houkjær 1988).
2 [Van Leeuwen 2015] Thirty of these (all depicted here) are known. Schepelern/Houkjær 1988.
3 [Van Leeuwen 2015] Ten of these (all illustrated here) are known. Schepelern/Houkjær 1988.
4 [Van Leeuwen 2015] There exists an autograph repetition of this drawing (RKDImages 72125).