The Wierix family [part I]
The three Wierix brothers were among the most prolific of the numerous engravers active in Antwerp in the second half of the sixteenth and in the early seventeenth centuries. Johannes (c. 1549-c. 1618) is also recorded in Delft (1577-79), and probably moved to Brussels before the turn of the century, where he died. His younger brothers Hieronymus (1553-1619) and Antonius II (c. 1555/59-1604) remained active in Antwerp.
The majority of the Wierix's production is religious and served the Counter-Reformation. They engraved in styles virtually indistinguishable from one another and their output is renowned for its technical sophistication and delicacy, perhaps best illustrated in the copies after Der and in the portraits. The book illustrations engraved by the Wierix brothers rank among the finest of their time; they were mainly intended for religious books, a great number of which were published by the renowned firm of Plantin in Antwerp.
The catalogue further expand on and refine the meticulous four-volume catalogue of Mauquoy-Hendrickx, completed in 1983. Special attention has been paid to the issue of originals, replicas and variants, and all known preparatory drawings for the prints will be listed.
Volume I: Old Testament, New Testament
Published in 2003
Compiler: Zsuzsanna van Ruyven-Zeman in collaboration with Marjolein Leesberg
Editors: Jan Van der Stock and Marjolein Leesberg
ISBN: 978-90-75607-49-9
218 pp.