The Van Eeghen Drawing Book

Very few drawing books from the early 17th century have survived. What remains often consists of loose sheets: these fetched more money than a complete book. As a result, drawing books were frequently taken apart.

The Van Eeghen Drawing Book remained intact. That is highly exceptional.

For more than three centuries, this book was in the possession of the Amsterdam Van Eeghen family, after whom it is named. It was carefully passed down from generation to generation, until the family recently decided to donate the book to the Rijksmuseum.

For a long time, it was unknown who had made the spectacular drawings in the book. About 20 years ago, they were traced by the previous owner to Rombout Uylenburgh and his workshop.

In his own time, Uylenburgh was a celebrated and established artist. Today, only a handful of his works are known to survive.

Rombout Uylenburgh came from Leeuwarden. He probably moved with his family at a young age to the Polish city of Kraków, where King Sigismund III held court. There, Rombout worked his way up to become court painter.

Around 1612, he settled in the Polish port city of Danzig, present-day Gdańsk, where he continued his career. One of his specialties: grisailles, paintings executed in shades of grey.

Uylenburgh died in 1627 or 1628 in Danzig. His name gradually faded into obscurity.

Rombout's brother Hendrick was also active in the art world, as an art dealer. After returning to Amsterdam, he became the business partner of none other than Rembrandt. In 1634, Rembrandt married Saskia, the niece of Rombout and Hendrick.

On the binding, in gold letters, are the words Konstboeck voor Reyer Claessoon ("Art book for Reyer Claessoon").

Reyer Claesz. was a merchant from Enkhuizen. For trade purposes, he settled in Danzig. He likely knew Rombout Uylenburgh well: both men were Mennonites.

Some of the drawings were executed on blue paper. The paper was first dyed blue, after which it was worked with pen, brush, various colored inks, and white paint.

Why blue? It functions as a kind of midtone that can be made darker or lighter. This allows for a great deal of depth in the composition, resulting in drawings with intense color contrast, making them dramatic and vivid.

Because the drawings have barely been exposed to light, the colours are still as stunning today as they were four hundred years ago.

Besides the finished drawings, the book also contains all kinds of scribbles and small sketches, for example of birds and other animals. Various family members also wrote their names in it.

Besides Rombout and his workshop, other artists also worked in the book. Exactly who they were, we don't yet know. Detective work for the future.

Rombout's own working method has also not yet been fully unraveled. And what exactly the book was used for? That, too, remains unknown. In short: there is still plenty to discover.