Johannes van den Aveele

1
Johannes van den Aveele (or Aveelen)
Amsterdam c. 1655 – Stockholm 1727
Van den Aveele was active as an engraver in Amsterdam from 1678, later he
worked in Utrecht, and then in Leiden 1696-98. His production included views of
cities, harbours and naval illustrations. In May 1698 the publisher Nicolas
Visscher in Amsterdam recommended him to the Swedish quarter-master
general Erik Dahlbergh, who was looking for an engraver for his topography of
Sweden, Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna. He was to replace the recently deceased
Willem Swidde, who had also been recommended by Visscher. A passport for van
den Aveele was issued in August, and he must have arrived in Sweden shortly
after, since five of his Swedish prints are dated the same year. He produced nine
in 1699, but only five the year after, and in 1701 Dahlbergh complained that he
was working for others. Such a case is the Panorama of Stockholm of 1702, after
a painting by Cornelis Vermeulen. However, Dahlbergh’s correspodance reveals
that he approved of some of van den Aveele’s other comissions. Up to 1715,
when the work on the Suecia was brought to an end, he produced at least 142
prints for Dahlbergh. In 1703, after the death of Dahlbergh, he was taken of the
payroll of the Fortification Corps, and for a long period his pay was reduced. In
1716 he complained to the authorites about the economic problems it caused
him. From his petition we learn that he had a houshold of ten to support,
including seven children (#9). He was reinstated in1721.
Few drawings by van den Aveele are known. Only ten prints in the Suecia are
signed “Aveelen del.”, but most of the preparatory drawings are missing. In most
cases he obviously worked from already existing models, many of them still
preserved, but comparison with the prints show that he frequently retouched and
improved them, as his contract stipulated and as Swidde had done before him. A
small number of retouched drawings are also preserved. Dahlbergh greatly
esteemed van den Aveele’s capacity as a draftsman. In 1700 he wrote that “he is
an exceedingly good and artful master, and his work so beautiful and neat, that
I must say that he is just as good as the late Swidde, if not better” (Letter to G.
Blåman Nov. 12, 1700. KB, Handskr. M 11:2:4).
The point of departure for judging van den Aveele’s style is two signed drawings
in the Nationa Military Archives (#1-2). Based on them a small group of drawings
for the Suecia can be added to his oeuvre. They differ dramatically from the
more amateurish drawings produced by Dahlbergh and his fellow officers. The
drawings are in pen and ink, with grey wash, in the backgrounds he works
extensively with the brush and lighter tones, while he reiforces the foreground
with darker body-colour. It is a manner also found in other Dutch topographical
draftsmen and illustrators of the period, such as Romeyn de Hooghe and Gerard
van Houten.
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[Aveele]
#1
Battle between two Warships, seen from the Stern
Pen and brown ink, grey wash and dark-grey body-colour, x mm.
KrA
The wash recedes from the pen strokes, letting them distincly visible. It was thus
applied after the pen lines, not before as was usual.
Laid down.
Signed in the lower right corner J. V. D. Avejlen, and numbered N:o 23, pen and
brown ink.
Provenance: In the military archives since about 1700.
Bibliography: Svensk flottans historia, I, Malmö 1942, pp. 250f; B. Magnusson,
Att illustrera fäderneslandet, Uppsala 1986, p. 176, fig. 114.
This and the following drawing, which depicts the same two ships from the fore,
are the only two signed drawings by the artist, known so far. The names of the
ships are legible, on the left is the Danish “Den 3 Cronen”, with the monogram of
3
king Christian VI, on the right the Swedish “Carolus”, in flames. In spite of the
names, naval historians have not been able to determine which of the many
encounters between Swedish and Danish naval forces might be illustrated (The
monogram Christian VI must be a misstake or an addition, since he did not
become king of Denmark until 1730).
The archive of Swedish military actions was the resposibility of the quartermaster general, the documentation was mostly acquired from the engineers and
officers in the field. However, for his planned publication of the campaigns of the
Swedish forces, the quarter-master general Erik Dahlbergh also used artists like
David Klöcker Ehrestralhl and Johann Philipp Lemke. Since the two drawings
were preserved in the military archives, it is likely that Dahlbergh ordered them.
The documents in the archive was also used in the training of young officers,
and the didactic intention of the drawing is evident. A dotted line, divided in
three parts, each marked c, marks the distance between the two ships. Dotted
lines also continues the shape of the hulls under water. The special technique
applied, with made the grey wash “shrink” from the contours in brown ink, also
increased the readability of the shapes and the tackle. Both sheets are numbered
23, thus not consecutively, most likely referring to the event illustrated and a
corresponding description.
Van den Aveele had experience of this kind of illustration, and must have worked
from written reports, ship’s portraits or earlier illustration. While maintaining a
level of factual information, his flexible brush work and vivid figures transform
the rendering into a dramatic scene with flames and clouds of dark smoke rising
to the sky, sailors launching the life-boats or throwing themselves in the sea.
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[Aveele]
#2
Battle between two Warships, seen from the Fore
Pen and brown ink, grey wash and dark-grey body-colour, x mm.
KrA
The wash recedes from the pen strokes, letting them distincly visible. It was thus
applied after the pen lines, not before as was usual.
Laid down.
Inscriptions and Collectors Marks: Signed in the lower right corner J. V. D.
Avejlen f, and numbered N:o 23, pen and brown ink.
Provenance: In the military archives since about 1700.
Bibliography: Svensk flottans historia, I, Malmö 1942, pp. 250f; B. Magnusson,
Att illustrera fäderneslandet, Uppsala 1986, p. 176.
See the preceeding number.
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[Aveele]
#3
View of Skeppsholmen, the Naval Base of Stockholm
Pen and brown ink, grey wash and dark-grey body-colour, 295x382 mm.
KB, Handskr. Fm 18, no. 1
The drawing is contained within thin ruled framing lines in pencil. Several vertical
folds.
Watermark: Amsterdam coat-of-arms.
Chain lines: 26 mm.
Inscribed at the top Skepp.Holmen / Stockholm, and in the bottom left Nescher
Mss n:o 63 i folio, both pen and grey ink. Numbered in the upper right corner
N:o 1, pen and brown ink.
Provenance: S. L. Gahm Persson (1725-1794): D. G. Nescher (1753-1827);
Acquired by the Royal Library in 1828.
Bibliography: Svensk flottans historia, I, Malmö 1942, pp. 69 (anonymous); G.
Selling (Ed.), Stockholmsbilder från fem århundraden 1523 – 1923, Stockholm
1933, p. 74 (anonymous); N. G. Wollin, Skeppsholmen under 300 år (Kungl.
Vitterhets-, Historie- och Antikvitetsakads. Handl., Antikvariska serien 24),
Stockholm 1971 pp. 183ff (anonymous); B. Magnusson, Att illustrera
fäderneslandet, Uppsala 1986, p. 176.
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The drawing is in the same manner as the preceeding ones. The pen drawing has
been lavishly worked over with the brush, and the pen lines have been
“bleeding” in several places adding a warmer tone. In the foreground the wash is
reinforced with darker body-colour, while the skies and the reflexions in the
water are done in a light, transparent wash.
A view of the same area with the Royal Stables in the foreground was etched for
the Suecia Antiqua (Plate I:34) by van den Aveele in 1698. In that case he made
some modifications of the existing preparatory drawing. The present drawing
probably dates from the same period, and could have been an altenative model
for the print. The buildings on the island all date from before c. 1700.
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[Aveele]
#4
Archaelogical Finds from Bråvalla Hed
Pen and point of brush in grey, 236x158 mm.
KB, Dahlb. 10:12
Traced for transfer, outlines in red chalk on the verso. Brown stains.
No watermark.
Chain lines: 25 mm.
Inscribed in the drawing with letters and legends (Dahlbergh), pen and brown
ink.
Provenance: RA (National Archives) from c. 1710; Transferred to the Royal
Library in 1880.
Bibliography: S. Wallin et al., Teckningarna till Suecua Antiqua et Hodierna, IV,
Stockholm 1970, p. 39, fig. 2251 (no attr.); B. Magnusson, Att illustrera
fäderneslandet, Uppsala 1986, p. 178.
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Bråvalla is the place of a legendary battle, that supposedly took place in the
eighth century. The drawing is inscribed by Dahlbergh, who died in January
1703. It is included in a list of finished drawings of that year, but the etching for
the Suecia Antiqua by van den Aveele was not executed until 1707. The style is
that of van den Aveele, and differs markedly from the usual representation
supplied by antiquarians and others, that recorded this kind of motifs for
Dahlbergh. Obviously van den Aveele copied an existing drawing, since
Dahlbergh had handed over the objects reproduced to the State Antiquarian in
1696.
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[Aveele]
#5
Penningby Castle
Pen and brown ink, grey wash, 221x350 mm.
KB, Nescher 122
Composed of two separate sheets: a piece of paper, c. 80 mm wide, has been
added to the top. Traced for transfer, outlines in red chalk on the verso. Vertical
fold in the centre. Burn hole right of centre.
Watermark: Amsterdam coat-of-arms (main sheet); Horn (upper part).
Chain lines: 23 mm (both pieces of paper).
Inscribed on the verso Effter hr hochgrefl Excell:ns (…) denne på en heel plåt att
tryckas på ett helt arck, pen and brown ink (Dahlbergh).
Provenance: S. L. Gahm Persson (1725-1794): D. G. Nescher (1753-1827);
Acquired by the Royal Library in 1828.
Bibliography: S. Wallin et al., Teckningarna till Suecua Antiqua et Hodierna, II,
Stockholm 1966, p. 44, fig. 1065 (no attr.); B. Magnusson, Att illustrera
fäderneslandet, Uppsala 1986, pp. 177f, fig. 116.
Preparatory drawing for an etching in the Suecia Antiqua, dated 1709 (Plate
I:122). Initially Penningby was to be engraved on the same plate as another
motif, but was instead made into a separate plate.The plans must have been
10
changed after van den Aveele made the drawing, since he added a wide strip of
paper at the top and filled out the view with two big coat-of-arms. This is the
only drawing in the Suecia reproduced in reverse. Six years after the death of
Dahlbergh the control of the project seems to have slackened.
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[Aveele]
#6
Idingsta
Pen and brown ink, 214x339 mm.
KB, Dahlb. 9:16
Ruled brown framing lines in brown ink. Most of the ruined building and the gate
to the courtyard is on a separate piece of paper glued in.
Watermark: HDVE (counter mark).
Chain lines: 24 mm.
Inscribed in the drawing by the artist IDINGSTA and Stiernorp.
Provenance: RA (State Archives) from c. 1710; Transferred to the Royal Library
in 1880.
Bibliography: S. Wallin et al., Teckningarna till Suecua Antiqua et Hodierna, II,
Stockholm 1966, p. 19, fig. 1972 (no attr.); B. Magnusson, Att illustrera
fäderneslandet, Uppsala 1986, pp. 178.
Preparatory drawing for the etching in the Suecia Antiqua, dated 1709 (Plate
III:19). The point of departure was a highly finished drawing submitted to
Dahlbergh by an amateur draftsman. On the same sheet was also a text with
informations about the place and its owners, as well as two coats-of-arms.1 Van
1
Wallin, op.cit., p. 18, fig. 1970.
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den Aveele redrew the main outlines in the format of the print and corrected the
perspective. As in Penningby, of the same year, he placed the coat-of-arms in
the sky. However, it seems that the buildings on the left, with their simple
outlines and steep perspective, are drawn by a different hand.
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[Aveele]
#7
Finspång
Pen and grey ink, grey wash, 220x333 mm.
UUB, Palmskiöld, vol. 292, p. 391
Ruled framing lines in brown ink. Several vertical folds; a horisontal fold near the
bottom, with damage.
Watermark: Amsterdam.
Chain lines: 26 mm.
Numbered in the upper right corner 391, pen and brown ink, and 218, pencil.
Provenance: E. Palmskiöld (1667-1719); Acquired by the Uppsala University
Library in 1724.
Bibliography: S. Wallin et al., Teckningarna till Suecua Antiqua et Hodierna, II,
Stockholm 1966, p. 15, fig. 1918 (no attr.); B. Magnusson, Att illustrera
fäderneslandet, Uppsala 1986, p. 177, fig. 115.
The drawing is a splendid example of van den Aveele lively style in figure
drawing. He made an etching of Finspång for the Suecia Antiqua in 1715 after his
own drawing (Plate III:9). It is a garden view, the front view was etched by M.
Meytens jr in the same year (Plate III:8). The side view shown in the present
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drawing was not etched, perhaps three views was deemed excessive, or was
cancelled as the whole enterprise was ended that year.
Only the most significant monuments were allowed three views in the Seucia.
Finspång was the seat of an important iron industry, dating back to the 16 th
century, but developed in the following century by W. De Besche and Louis De
Geer. The magnificent palace was erected after 1668 by Louis De Geer jr.
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[Aveele (with Tessin’s workshop?)]
#8
Sturefors
Pen and grey ink, grey wash, pen and brown ink, 250x500 mm.
KB, Dahlb. 9:23
The sheet has been added to, there is a vertical joint 93 mm from the right
border. A vertical line drawn with a ruler is 135 mm from the right border.
Several vertical folds.
Watermark: Amsterdam coat-of-arms (bothe sheets).
Chain lines: 26-28 mm.
Inscribed at the top Sturefors Orientem Versus, and numbered III:27, pencil.
Provenance: RA (State Archives) from c. 1710; Transferred to the Royal Library
in 1880.
Bibliography: S. Wallin et al., Teckningarna till Suecua Antiqua et Hodierna, IV,
Stockholm 1970, p. 20, fig. 2003 (no attr.); B. Magnusson, Att illustrera
fäderneslandet, Uppsala 1986, pp. 179, fig. 117.
Preparatory drawing for the etching in the Suecia Antiqua, dated 1710 (Plate
III:27). Sturefors was completely rebuilt by Nicodemus Tessin jr around 1705,
and work on the gardens planned in 1707. Van den Aveele must have worked
from drawings supplied by the architect, as he had done in several other cases.
The somewhat dry manner of the view is similar to the views of Tessin’s own
palace in Stockholm, supplied to Aveele by the architect’s workshop. However
the staffage populating the scene, drawn in brown ink on top of the finished
drawing, is certainly by van den Aveele.
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[Aveele]
#9
Petition to King Charles XII
Pen and brown ink, c. 40x140 mm (the drawing), 310x205 mm (the sheet).
KB, Handskr. M 11:3:11
Watermark: Seven provincies.
Chain lines: 23 mm.
Inscribed at the top Van den Avelen, om des fordring (Van den Avelen, regarding
his claim), pen and brown ink. Stamp of registration fee in the upper left corner,
as well as the stamp of Palmskiölds collection.
Provenance: RA (State Archives) from c. 1710; Transferred to the Royal Library
in 1880.
Bibliography: B. Magnusson, Att illustrera fäderneslandet, Uppsala 1986, pp.
176.
The petition regards payment for work done on Suecia Antiqua up to 1716,
written in Swedish and adressed to king Charles XII. The letters of the king’s
name, “CAROLUS REX XII, is in a form of little figures, similar to the small scale
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staffage figures of his drawings for the Suecia. The artist shrewdly alluded to the
success he had had with a similar compositon, printed in 1701, celebrating the
King’s victory in the batte against the Russians at Narva (KB 41, Hieroglyphicum
Poeticum).