RefNoIM/002691
LevelItem
TitleLeeuwenhoek, Antoni Van
ArtistVerkolje; Jan (1650 - 1693); artist
Date1686
DescriptionThree-quarter length seated portrait of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek holding one of his microscopes in his left hand. He is shown wearing a long robe with a shirt and cravat. A globe, quill pen, leafy branch and diagram can be seen on his desk. The mezzotint is accompanied by a short poem written in Dutch by Constantijn Huygens that explains how Leeuwenhoek used his microscope like glass keys to unlock the secrets of the natural world.
InscriptionContent‘ANTONI VAN LEEUWENHOEK,/LID VAN DE KONINGHLYKE SOCIETEIT IN LONDON,/GEBOREN TOT DELFF. Ao. 1632. ’ ‘Daer leeft een aerdigh Man, een vaerdigh Man en gauw,/Die wisse wondren teelt, en heeft Natur’ in’t nauw, /Doorkruijpt all haer geheim, en opent all haer Sloten:’ ‘Sijn’ Glase Sleuteltiens en isser geen ontschoten,/Noch kan ontschieten. Dit ’s die dappre Man niet: maer/Siet scherp toe, die hem soekt; ’t gelijckt hem of hij ’t waer./CONSTANTER.’ ‘J Verkolje pinx fec. Et exc. Ao. 1686.’
ObjectNameEngraving
MaterialsBlack and white engraving
Dimensions290 x 220 mm
AccessStatusOpen
Fellows associated with this archive
CodePersonNameDates
NA8438Leeuwenhoek; Antoni van (1632 - 1723); tradesman and microscopist1632 - 1723
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