Amsterdam art treasure resurfaces

Four centuries old, barely faded and cherished by one Amsterdam family for over three hundred years. After more than ninety years out of public view, this remarkable art collection takes the stage again. The destination?

This concerns the Van Eeghen Tekenboek, an exceptionally rare early 17th-century sketchbook donated to the Rijksmuseum by the Amsterdam family Van Eeghen. The work remained within the family for over three centuries and was carefully passed down from generation to generation. Only once before, in 1935, had it been shown to the public.

That the book has now resurfaced is remarkable. It is exceptionally rare for a 17th-century sketchbook to have survived completely intact. Director Taco Dibbits calls the Van Eeghen Tekenboek a highlight of Dutch drawing art.

Equally remarkable

The monumental book contains approximately thirty drawings, including an elaborate series of Biblical scenes. Some of these are executed on blue paper.

Equally remarkable is their condition. Because the drawings have barely been exposed to light, the colours remain as striking today as they were four hundred years ago, according to the Rijksmuseum.

Court painter

Who created the drawings remained unclear for a long time. Only about twenty years ago was a connection made to Rombout Uylenburgh and his workshop. Uylenburgh was born around 1580 in Friesland, but moved to Krakow with his family at a young age. There he worked at the Polish royal court and became court painter to King Sigismund III.

Later he settled in Danzig, now Gdańsk. There he likely knew Reyer Claesz., a Dutch merchant whose name appears in gold letters on the sketchbook's binding. After Uylenburgh's death in 1627 or 1628, his name gradually faded from memory.

His family, however, remained far from obscure. Rombout's brother Hendrick returned to Amsterdam and became an art dealer for Rembrandt. In 1634, Rembrandt married Rombout's niece Saskia.

Thanks to the donation, the Rijksmuseum can now conduct further research into Uylenburgh, of whom only a small number of works have survived. From 19 August, a significant part of his small body of work will be presented together with the sketchbook.