Rare-Antique Master Print-JOOST-VAN-DEN-VONDEL-PORTRAIT-PRINT-Lievens-Bergh-c.1650

‘IN VONDEL SPEELT DE GEEST VAN NE?RLANDS PO?ZY: NATUUR VOLMAECKT ZYN KUNST, EN ZET HAER LEVEN BY. – PRUDENTIUS.”

– Bust portrait of the famous Dutch poet Joost van den Vondel (1587-1679), shown slightly turned to the right and holding a manuscript or sheet of paper. The poet is depicted with short hair and a small beard, wearing a cloak and broad white collar typical of the seventeenth century. Beneath the image appears a laudatory Dutch verse praising Vondel as the embodiment of the spirit of Dutch poetry. Such prints circulated widely after his lifetime and reflect the enormous influence he held in Dutch literature.