Lucas Emile Vorsterman Senior (1595-1675) is the leading Flemish engraver of the 17th century. He introduced a number of improvements into the process and the manner of engraving. Around 1619 Vorsterman came to Antwerp and joined the guild of Saint Luke. That’s when he started his effective cooperation with Pieter Paul Rubens. Vorsterman learned to paint in his workshop.
In 1624, Vorsterman moved to England, where he worked for King Charles I who collected works of art, as well as for Earl Thomas Arundel. In England he made a lot of engravings on the basis of portraits by Van Dyck and Holbein. Six years later he returned to Antwerp and continued working with the paintings by Rubens, Peter Bruegel the Elder, Raphael and other masters.
A dispute arose between Vorsterman and Rubens on the issue of ownership of the authorial rights to the prints engraved by Vorsterman on the basis of Rubens' designs. The case came to trial. This being said, Rubens was godfather to Vorsterman’s eldest son. But the dispute ended the working relationship between the two men. Vorsterman lost his sight in his old age and he lived in poverty, he lived on the support of the Antwerp Guild of St Luke.
Lucas Vorsterman developed a new style of copper plate engraving with a pointed finish and soft transitions from shadows to light. The engraving reproduces the left side of the famous triptych by Rubens The Miraculous Catch of Fish. In addition to the correct reproduction of the drawing, the artist demanded that the engraver reproduced contrasts and transitions from sparkling light to deep shadows. The work of Vorsterman met his demands. Created by order of the Guild of fishmongers, the triptych adorns the Church of Our Lady in Belgium. The figures are placed on the same plane, as on Roman reliefs, the clothes of the characters resemble those of ancient times. The iconography of the subject goes back to the Gospel of Matthew: ‘The tax collector asked Peter if he would pay the tax for the temple. Christ told Peter that if he threw his line into the lake, in the mouth of the first fish he caught he would find a silver coin that would be enough to pay the tax.’ In the foreground is the figure of Peter surrounded by four apostles, behind them is a woman with a basket filled with fish. The figures are outlined with sharp ends of strokes, without drawing contour lines. The engraving came into the museum in 1919 from the manor of Baryatino, Tarusa County of Kaluga Governorate, as part of the private art collection of the princely family of Gorchakov.
In 1624, Vorsterman moved to England, where he worked for King Charles I who collected works of art, as well as for Earl Thomas Arundel. In England he made a lot of engravings on the basis of portraits by Van Dyck and Holbein. Six years later he returned to Antwerp and continued working with the paintings by Rubens, Peter Bruegel the Elder, Raphael and other masters.
A dispute arose between Vorsterman and Rubens on the issue of ownership of the authorial rights to the prints engraved by Vorsterman on the basis of Rubens' designs. The case came to trial. This being said, Rubens was godfather to Vorsterman’s eldest son. But the dispute ended the working relationship between the two men. Vorsterman lost his sight in his old age and he lived in poverty, he lived on the support of the Antwerp Guild of St Luke.
Lucas Vorsterman developed a new style of copper plate engraving with a pointed finish and soft transitions from shadows to light. The engraving reproduces the left side of the famous triptych by Rubens The Miraculous Catch of Fish. In addition to the correct reproduction of the drawing, the artist demanded that the engraver reproduced contrasts and transitions from sparkling light to deep shadows. The work of Vorsterman met his demands. Created by order of the Guild of fishmongers, the triptych adorns the Church of Our Lady in Belgium. The figures are placed on the same plane, as on Roman reliefs, the clothes of the characters resemble those of ancient times. The iconography of the subject goes back to the Gospel of Matthew: ‘The tax collector asked Peter if he would pay the tax for the temple. Christ told Peter that if he threw his line into the lake, in the mouth of the first fish he caught he would find a silver coin that would be enough to pay the tax.’ In the foreground is the figure of Peter surrounded by four apostles, behind them is a woman with a basket filled with fish. The figures are outlined with sharp ends of strokes, without drawing contour lines. The engraving came into the museum in 1919 from the manor of Baryatino, Tarusa County of Kaluga Governorate, as part of the private art collection of the princely family of Gorchakov.
