DECKER, Coenraet

The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) was begun in 1384, following a miraculous appearance of the Virgin in 1381 and the raising of a wooden church. Construction of the stone tower went on for a century, between 1396 and 1496. The nave and aisles were finished in the 1430s, the choir in 1476.

The engraving was published in 1667 in Beschryvinge der stadt Delft by Dirck van Bleyswijck.

The Oude Kerk (Old Church) was not an “old church” when this engraving was made. The first stone church on the site went back to the early 1200s, but the Oude Kerk as it has been known in later centuries was built in campaigns of about 1390-1410 (the choir and the side chapels), about 1425-40 (the expansion of the nave), and about 1510-22 (the Mariakoor, or Mary’s Choir, and the transept).

The engraving was published in 1667 in Beschryvinge der stadt Delft by Dirck van Bleyswijck.

The engraving was published in Beschryvinge der stadt Delft by Dirck van Bleyswijk in Delft in 1667-80. It shows the Gemeenlandshuis (Communal Land House) in Delft. This impressive early-sixteenth-century townhouse was originally the home of Jan de Huyter, the collector of taxes on hops.

In 1675 the former burgomaster and unofficial city historian Dirck van Bleyswijck (1639-1681) was commissioned by the municipal government of Delft to produce a plan of the city, accompanied by engraved cityscapes and depictions of important buildings. The plan of Delft, called the Kaart Figuratief (illustrated map), was engraved by Johannes de Ram and Conraet Decker after designs by Johannes Verkolje, Pieter van Asch, and Heerman Witmont and was published by Pieter Smith under Van Bleyswijck’s supervision. The completed work consisted of a plan, or bird’s-eye view, of Delft, with all the buildings seen foreshortened; city profiles of Delft and the harbour town of Delfshaven; twenty-two images of individual buildings, two smaller plans of Delfshaven and nearby Overschie; eight family crests of the Delft burgomasters who were in office at the time; and a short text describing the city. The parts were designed to form a monumental ensemble, but smaller configurations could also be arranged.

Johannes de Ram etched the plan of Delft, while Decker was responsible for all the pictorial elements. The nine engravings of buildings or places in Delft, shown in the picture are, reading from left to right and beginning in the top row: the fish market and meat hall; the Gemeenlandshuis; the Waterslootse Gate; the civic guard headquarters; the town house; the pesthouse; the armoury; the horse market; and the new gunpowder magazine.

In 1678 the burgomasters commissioned several frames for various combinations of the prints ensemble to be displayed in the town hall. Steven de Swart,a woodcarver, and Jorisz Arentsz van Cleef, a painter and gilder, made eleven elaborate frames. Three of these have survived, one is shown in the picture.

In 1675 the former burgomaster and unofficial city historian Dirck van Bleyswijck (1639-1681) was commissioned by the municipal government of Delft to produce a plan of the city, accompanied by engraved cityscapes and depictions of important buildings. The plan of Delft, called the Kaart Figuratief (illustrated map), was engraved by Johannes de Ram and Conraet Decker after designs by Johannes Verkolje, Pieter van Asch, and Heerman Witmont and was published by Pieter Smith under Van Bleyswijck’s supervision. The completed work consisted of a plan, or bird’s-eye view, of Delft, with all the buildings seen foreshortened; city profiles of Delft and the harbour town of Delfshaven; twenty-two images of individual buildings, two smaller plans of Delfshaven and nearby Overschie; eight family crests of the Delft burgomasters who were in office at the time; and a short text describing the city. The parts were designed to form a monumental ensemble, but smaller configurations could also be arranged.

Johannes de Ram etched the plan of Delft, while Decker was responsible for all the pictorial elements. The nine engravings of buildings or places in Delft, shown in the picture are, reading from left to right and beginning in the top row: the fish market and meat hall; the Gemeenlandshuis; the Waterslootse Gate; the civic guard headquarters; the town house; the pesthouse; the armoury; the horse market; and the new gunpowder magazine.

In 1678 the burgomasters commissioned several frames for various combinations of the prints ensemble to be displayed in the town hall. Steven de Swart,a woodcarver, and Jorisz Arentsz van Cleef, a painter and gilder, made eleven elaborate frames. Three of these have survived, one is shown in the picture.

The picture shows the Profile of Delft, a section of the Kaart Figuratief (illustrated map), engraved by Johannes de Ram and Conraet Decker after designs by Johannes Verkolje, Pieter van Asch, and Heerman Witmont and was published by Pieter Smith under Van Bleyswijck’s supervision.

Sint Jorispoort (also known as the Waterslootse Poort) is the most distinctive feature of the western wall in Delft. This was one of the largest and most impressive city gates in northern Netherlands. In the seventeenth century the towers served as prison cells, the late sixteenth-century superstructure was built for this purpose.

This print is from Beschryvinge der stadt Delft (Description of the City of Delft) by Dirck van Bleyswijk, published in Delft in 1667-80.

The engraving was published in Beschryvinge der stadt Delft by Dirck van Bleyswijk in Delft in 1667-80.

The engraving was published in Beschryvinge der stadt Delft by Dirck van Bleyswijk in Delft in 1667-80.

Delfshaven was the harbour where the ships returning from the East were unloaded into the small ‘damrunners’ that carried the goods to warehouses in Delft.

The engraving was published in Beschryvinge der stadt Delft by Dirck van Bleyswijk in Delft in 1667-80.

The engraving was published in Beschryvinge der stadt Delft by Dirck van Bleyswijk in Delft in 1667-80.

The engraving is from Beschryvinge der stadt Delft (Description of the City of Delft) by Dirck van Bleyswijk, published in Delft in 1667-80. This publication, a history of the city with descriptions of the greatest accomplishments of its citizens and all its important monuments, was an expression of the civic pride. Van Bleyswijk was the son of a well-to-do brewer and burgomaster.