Jan Luyken


Johannes or Jan Luyken was a Dutch poet, illustrator and engraver.

Biography

He was born and died in Amsterdam, where he learned engraving from his father Kaspar Luyken. He married at 19 and had several children, of who Kasparus Luiken also became a renowned engraver. He had a religious experience at age 26 that inspired him to write moralistic poetry.

Works

He illustrated the 1685 edition of the Martyrs Mirror with 104 copper etchings. Thirty of these plates survive and are part of The Mirror of the Martyrs exhibit.
He also published Het Menselyk Bedryf in 1694, which contains numerous engravings, by Luiken and his son Caspar, of 17th century trades.

Cultural references

' anti-hero Des Esseintes in À rebours was an admirer of Luyken's engravings and had prints from his Religious Persecutions hung in his drawing room. He described them as 'appalling engravings containing all the tortures that the madness of religion could devise.' Des Esseintes was enthralled not just by Luyken's graphic depictions but his ability to reconstruct times and places in his works.

Gallery