SADELER, Jan I
(b. 1550, Bruxelles, d. 1600, Venezia)

Biography

Jan (Johannes) Sadeler, Flemish draughtsman, engraver and publisher. He belonged to a productive and commercially astute family of printmakers that was involved internationally in printmaking and publishing for several generations during the 16th and 17th centuries.

He began work as a steel-chiseller or damascener but moved to Antwerp, where he was admitted to the Guild of St Luke in 1572 as a copperplate engraver. It was probably through Christoph Plantin's publishing house that Jan came into contact with members of the Dutch Reformed Church with which he had close links. Jan engraved illustrations for Plantin. It was probably in Antwerp also that he met Marten de Vos, with whom he and his brothers collaborated for many years. However, during his Antwerp years Jan engraved principally after the works of Crispin van den Broeck (1523-c. 1590) and Michiel Coxcie.

Jan Sadeler travelled to Cologne and Antwerp (1582-85), to Frankfurt (1585). He worked in Munich at the court of the Bavarian court (1589-95) then went to Italy (1597) where he worked until his death in Venice.



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