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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Title page - Portraits of Celebrated Artists of Lower Germany 1572 letterpress British Museum |
Two years after the death of Hieronymus Cock in 1570, his widow successfully completed a project he had been working on – the commissioning and printing of a collection of artist-portraits, with appropriate verses. All the subjects were from Flanders or the Netherlands and all had died within the past century. This collection is now seen as an early step toward formation of a canon of artistic accomplishment for the Low Countries that endures even today. A selection of the portraits (about half the total) appears below.
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Pieter Bruegel 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Frans Floris 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Joachim Patinir 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Jan van Eyck 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Hubert van Eyck 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Dirck Bouts 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Hieronymus Bosch 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Joost van Cleve 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Rogier van der Weyden 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Pieter Coecke 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Quinten Metsys 1572 engraving British Museum |
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| Widow of Hieronymus Cock Portrait of Herri met de Bles 1572 engraving British Museum |
The portrait of Herri met de Bles features a tiny niche set into the wall behind the sitter. This niche is occupied by a tiny owl, casting its own complete and tiny shadow. Though subject to the same light source, owl and human gaze in almost-opposite directions and appear unaware of each other.
I am grateful to the British Museum for making these images available.