Profit and pleasure, print books by Crispijn de Passe

A number of rare print books made by Crispijn de Passe the Elder in Cologne and Utrecht in the period 1596-1613 provide overwhelming evidence that he was one of the most prolific and versatile illustrators of his day.

The first chapters of this book are devoted to genre-like scenes of amorous encounters of young people and prints portraying the everyday life of university students, subjects that were quite modern at the time. Other chapters cover De Passe's illustrations of amorous escapades, dramatic adventures and tales of heroism from Genesis, Ovid, Virgil and Homer. The author makes clear that De Passe's prints had the twin functions of being instructive and attractive, and that they were excellent aids for memorizing the stories.

By Ilja Veldman

ISBN: 978-90-75607-58-1Price € 225 / $ 300 as a set together with volume 3, only as set available

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