DOI chapter:
Chapter III
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62095#0056
Eighteenth-Century Colour-Prints 27
encouragement of decorative objects generally. His style as an engraver, judging by
the work indisputably his own, is a curious blend of the Italian and Dutch. He has
something of the grace and correctness of the former, something of the vigour and variety
of the latter. But there is a hardness in his shadows, a dryness and lack of freedom in
his line, which eventually led him to the experiment of adding colour, in the form of
printing-ink, to his unsatisfactory engravings ; and the first few of these he printed him-
self. He was so pleased with the result, he saw such immense possibilities in the inven-
tion, that, on the premises of the College where he had in his time been so brilliant
a pupil, and so successful a Professor, he founded, something after the model of the
Roman Art Guild, a School or Factory for the execution of copper-plate printing in
colours, both of engravings and for wall-hangings on linen or fabric.
Almost at the same time, as will be seen, Jakob Christoph Le Bion was experimenting
in the same field. But Le Bion was producing his effects on the old chiaroscuro lines,
though, of course, with very different results, because he engraved in mezzotint. That is
to say, he was printing from one plate over the other. Teyler, on the other hand, had
struck out a line of his own, and he painted or inked his copper-plate once, and procured
his complete impression by one printing from it ; which is the manner, with variations, that
was finally adopted by the famous colour-printers of the eighteenth century. There are
several curious points to be noted about the colour-work from the Nymegen factory. I say
the work from the factory advisedly, as it is impossible to regard the 173 specimens of
engraving and colour-printing in Teyler’s volume as the work of one man, especially as
that very man held a Government appointment at that time, and was also writing a book on
Military Architecture ! This book, quarto, and consisting of forty-one sheets, with a
title-page engraved by B. Stoopendaal, was published at Rotterdam in 1697; and contains
instructions as to calculating measurements for land-surveying and buildings by means of
Algebra. Johannes Teyler was full of surprises, and well deserved his nickname of
“ Speculatie ” : but nothing is to be gained by ascribing to him more than he could
possibly have achieved.
The prints, then, that emanated from the Nymegen factory, although they in no way
tend to change my opinion that colour only completely serves a stipple-engraver, yet
show very clearly the assistance which a chromo-printer can derive from an engraver who
is working specially for his advantage. In some of the figures in this book, for instance,
the difficulty in arriving at flesh-tint by line-work is met by an alteration in the method.
The point of the graver is used, and a combination of the maniere criblee, dots and
strokes, irregular and abrupt, with genuine stippling, is employed with considerable
advantage to the engraving. The harshness is subdued if not entirely overcome ; that
consummation was left for Bartolozzi to achieve ; Teyler had only an intuition as to
where his invention would carry him, not an absolute knowledge.
As it is unlikely the reader will come across this book of Johannes Teyler, for it is
described as “ unique ” in Muller s Catalogue of Rare Books, published in Amsterdam in
1868, a fuller description of it may be found of interest.
The title in MS. is in an engraved border, printed in colours ; on the reverse of the
title is a plate engraved in colours, with a medallion and the following inscription:—fiam
nec Parrhasius palmam carpsit, nec Apelles, Teilerus punctis atque colore tulit. Then
encouragement of decorative objects generally. His style as an engraver, judging by
the work indisputably his own, is a curious blend of the Italian and Dutch. He has
something of the grace and correctness of the former, something of the vigour and variety
of the latter. But there is a hardness in his shadows, a dryness and lack of freedom in
his line, which eventually led him to the experiment of adding colour, in the form of
printing-ink, to his unsatisfactory engravings ; and the first few of these he printed him-
self. He was so pleased with the result, he saw such immense possibilities in the inven-
tion, that, on the premises of the College where he had in his time been so brilliant
a pupil, and so successful a Professor, he founded, something after the model of the
Roman Art Guild, a School or Factory for the execution of copper-plate printing in
colours, both of engravings and for wall-hangings on linen or fabric.
Almost at the same time, as will be seen, Jakob Christoph Le Bion was experimenting
in the same field. But Le Bion was producing his effects on the old chiaroscuro lines,
though, of course, with very different results, because he engraved in mezzotint. That is
to say, he was printing from one plate over the other. Teyler, on the other hand, had
struck out a line of his own, and he painted or inked his copper-plate once, and procured
his complete impression by one printing from it ; which is the manner, with variations, that
was finally adopted by the famous colour-printers of the eighteenth century. There are
several curious points to be noted about the colour-work from the Nymegen factory. I say
the work from the factory advisedly, as it is impossible to regard the 173 specimens of
engraving and colour-printing in Teyler’s volume as the work of one man, especially as
that very man held a Government appointment at that time, and was also writing a book on
Military Architecture ! This book, quarto, and consisting of forty-one sheets, with a
title-page engraved by B. Stoopendaal, was published at Rotterdam in 1697; and contains
instructions as to calculating measurements for land-surveying and buildings by means of
Algebra. Johannes Teyler was full of surprises, and well deserved his nickname of
“ Speculatie ” : but nothing is to be gained by ascribing to him more than he could
possibly have achieved.
The prints, then, that emanated from the Nymegen factory, although they in no way
tend to change my opinion that colour only completely serves a stipple-engraver, yet
show very clearly the assistance which a chromo-printer can derive from an engraver who
is working specially for his advantage. In some of the figures in this book, for instance,
the difficulty in arriving at flesh-tint by line-work is met by an alteration in the method.
The point of the graver is used, and a combination of the maniere criblee, dots and
strokes, irregular and abrupt, with genuine stippling, is employed with considerable
advantage to the engraving. The harshness is subdued if not entirely overcome ; that
consummation was left for Bartolozzi to achieve ; Teyler had only an intuition as to
where his invention would carry him, not an absolute knowledge.
As it is unlikely the reader will come across this book of Johannes Teyler, for it is
described as “ unique ” in Muller s Catalogue of Rare Books, published in Amsterdam in
1868, a fuller description of it may be found of interest.
The title in MS. is in an engraved border, printed in colours ; on the reverse of the
title is a plate engraved in colours, with a medallion and the following inscription:—fiam
nec Parrhasius palmam carpsit, nec Apelles, Teilerus punctis atque colore tulit. Then