Author: BLOEMAERT, ABRAHAM. Bolten, Jaap.
Title: Abraham Bloemaert c. 1565-1651. The drawings.
Description: [Oegstgeest], Privatly printed, 2007. 2 vols (text & plates). 558 pp. 2 b./w. frontispieces & 505 plts with col. & b./w. ills. Orig. uniform hardcovers, d./j. - The set is as new !Privatly published by the author. - Complete set of this important standard work on the drawings of the Dutch artist Abraham Bloemaert: Vol. I: Catalogue: Vol. II: Illustrations. - - The first volume opens with a brief introduction on Bloemaert as a draughtsman in which Bolten discusses the size of the oeuvre, its chronology, the subjects and the reception history. This is followed by the catalogue, divided into sections by subject: narratives, portraits, genre, animals, plants, studies and landscapes, with the studies being subdivided into people, animals, plants and landscapes. Expressed in numbers, there are nearly 500 drawings of religious subjects and around 100 with scenes from classical mythology. The figure studies and drawings of landscapes, plants and animals come to around 850 sheets. The strict iconographic arrangement is underscored by the inclusion of the Iconclass codes. The possible function of each drawing is briefly mentioned under the formal data: sketch, picture drawing, print design, presentation drawing and so on. The heading ‘Related Works’ lists the painting or print for which the drawing was made, if known, and associations with works by other artists or even with authors classical or modern are also identified. Finally, Bolten supplies commentaries on groups of drawings. These are mini-essays on typical [Bloemaert] subjects like The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, bishops of Utrecht, Theagenes and Chariclea and hermits.

Keywords: Dutch Art Nederlandse kunst