Antique Drawing-ALLEGORY IN CALLIGRAPHY-SON-FATHER-van Rooyen-c.1760

‘GROOT ACHTL’IS VADERS VAN’T SCHEEPRYK ROTTERDAM. DIE NOOIT D’ARME WEERD. WANNEER ZIJ VOOR U KWAM […] GESCHREVEN EN GETROKKEN DOOR GERARDUS VAN ROOYEN OUD 12 1/2 JAAR.’

– Allegorical poem and concentric circels in calligraphy of the the artist towards his father from Rotterdam made by the 12 and a half year old Gerardus van Rooyen. The text in the center of the spiral is a 17th- or 18th-century occasional poem, addressed to a high-ranking gentleman and father figure. The author modestly apologizes for his work of art and asks the recipient to view it with a benevolent and paternal eye. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, such sheets were common in the Netherlands as a demonstration of proficiency (also known as a “writing sample” or “New Year’s wish”). Pupils at French or Dutch-language schools would create these artworks at the end of the year or during an examination to showcase their progress in penmanship to their parents, the schoolmaster, or the school board.