W.N Sainsbury. Original Unpublished Papers Illustrative of the Life of Sir Peter Paul Rubens As an Artist and a Diplomatist. London. Bradbury and Evans. 1859. From time to time, I intend to add a note on something of bibliographical or historiographical relevance, and thought I'd begin with a book that contributed significantly to stimulating my interest …
Continue reading Bibliographical Note: Sainsbury’s ‘Papers Relating to Rubens’.
Some highlights of the show. It’s more than forty years since the last major exhibition of works of art associated with Charles I and his circle. In 1972, ‘The Age of Charles I’ at Tate Britain (-then just the Tate Gallery-) provided an inspiring overview of ‘Painting in England, 1620-1649’, at a time when interest …
Continue reading ‘Charles I: King and Collector’ at the Royal Academy, London.
Richard Mayo's Bethnal Green Pamphlet. It is generally recognised that Gerbier was not reluctant to publish his views, and during the Interregnum he found numerous opportunities to express himself in print. Often his writings were either self-justifications, prospectuses for his various projects, or broadly pedagogical works. But he also published a pamphlet, of uncertain date, …
Continue reading Preaching and Print: A Clerical Riposte to Sir Balthazar.
In October 2017, I visited Rome for the first time, and took with me Gerbier's 'Subsidium Peregrinantibus', published in 1665 as a handbook for young men undertaking the Grand Tour of the European Mainland. As well as containing a great deal of information on orders of Knighthood and courtly protocol, the book is also something …
Like many 17th century diplomats, Gerbier must have been accustomed to shopping expeditions on behalf of family, friends, and patrons at the court of Charles I. As well as his celebrated art-buying expeditions, he could find himself responding to requests for more unusual items, such as a font of metal type, or a barrel of …
Continue reading Windebank’s ‘Virginall’ – Gerbier buys a harpsichord.
In June 2015, The Victoria and Albert Museum was the setting for what I believe was the first ever gathering of historians at an event devoted exclusively to Gerbier: a Symposium at which his role in a wide range of fields could be re-examined. It was an immensely interesting two days, which demonstrated a high …
Continue reading A Collector of Secrets. Sir Balthazar Gerbier in cultural diplomacy and the arts.
Although more often associated with the visual arts, Gerbier always turned to the written word as a natural form of expression, and throughout his life published regularly. His output included everything from a single page of verse addressed to Prins Maurits, to substantial books on building and military architecture, together with a number of pamphlets …
Continue reading Catalogue of Gerbier’s printed, written works.
By a very fortunate and timely coincidence, the University of Ghent has recently uploaded a digitized version of the copy of Gerbier's Eer Ende Claght-Dicht in its library to Google Books, where it can be seen in its complete form. As well as giving us a rare opportunity to see an original copy, this also …
I've transcribed Gerbier's first major published work, his tribute to Hendrick Goltzius, from one of approximately three surviving copies. The original is to be found in the British Museum's Department of Prints and Drawings, and I am very grateful to them for their assistance in making available Gerbier's text, which has not been reprinted since …
Sir Balthazar Gerbier 