ABEELE, Pieter van
(b. 1608, Middelburg, d. 1684, Amsterdam)

Biography

Dutch medallist, one of the best engravers of the Dutch school of the seventeenth century. It is thought that he was also a painter. He lived principally in Amsterdam where he was a pupil of Juriaen Pool (died 1669). His works date from 1622-1677.

Abeele perfected the technique of pressing hollow medals. He created the two sides of the medal separately and combined them with a ring of metal. His works are said to be the best of their time, and consist mostly of memorial and portrait medals. They depict several members of the House of Orange, Admiral Maarten Tromp, Jan Wolfert van Brederode, Charles X of Sweden and Charles II of England.

Abeele also made commemorative medals for the destruction of the English fleet and the peace of 1667, as well as one showing the granting of the coat of arms to the city of Amsterdam by Count William II of Holland and Emperor Maximilian I.



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