Johannes Vingboons was a 17th century Dutch cartographer. He made beautiful watercolor manuscipt maps of the East and West Indies. His work can now be seen both in an exhibition in Rotterdam and online.
Johannes Vingboons
Johannes Vingboons was born in Amsterdam around 1617 and died there in 1670. He came from an artistic background: both his father and grandfather were painters, three of his brothers were trained cartographers and two of them later worked as architects.
Vingboons’ work
Between 1640 and 1667, Vingboons created hundreds of watercolors. There were based on drawings that captains and crew of the Dutch East Indies Company took home from their voyages. This allowed Vingboons a view of the world in his Amsterdam workshop.
The meticulous and beautiful maps of cartographers like Vingboons and Joan Blaeu were sought after by collectors and ended up decorating the walls and libraries of an international client base, including several royal families.
Vingboons’ works include city views, plats, profiles and sea maps of exotic regions which were important to the Netherlands’ position as a trade nation. The small forts and trading posts have since evolved into the largest metropolises we know today.
Exhibition
The Nationaal Archief, the National Archives of the Netherlands, and the Rotterdam Kunsthal have organized an exhibition called ‘Land Ho!’ which will run until April 15, 2007. The Nationaal Archief has over 100 works by Vingboons. A selection of 60 maps can be seen in the exhibition. Three bound Vingboons atlases have been borrowed from the Vatican library. Another 15 maps have come from the De Medici collection in Florence. Four signed maps have come from the Dutch Scheepvaartmuseum (shipping museum) in Amsterdam.
Viewing the maps online
The Nationaal Archief maps can be viewed online in their online image database. Instructions:
- Click a thumbnail to go to the detail page. The ‘beschrijving’ field gives a description which mentions the location.
- Clicking the map will give the option to zoom in to see more details.
- If you want, you can buy a high-resolution download or quality print by adding the picture to your cart.
Source: Press release Nationaal Archief
About Yvette Hoitink
Hello, I have been researching Dutch maps because my husband is Dutch and wanted to purchase some of these maps. Unfortunately the link Is not viable probably because it is an old story. Husband’s last name is Geurkink. He traced the family name back to year 0.how cool is that. anyhow any infor you can give me on how to purchase would be so appreciated.
thank you for your time,
Marilynn Williams
Hi Marilynn,
Thanks for the update about the broken link, I have fixed it. Since I wrote this article, the website has changed so it now has an English webshop where you can buy a high-resolution download or print.
I am very curious to know how you were able to trace the Geurkink name back to the year 0. Geurkink is a name from Winterswijk, which comes from the Geurkink farm in the hamlet of Miste. I have several Geurkink ancestors myself. I know of no sources for that part of the country before the 10th century.
Hi,
My name is Indonesia, i am an artists that working with community. Now i am in Banda Neira islands for a month, i am working with community here to retrace the history and the old buildings and the map of the Island. I checked the collection and i found the map of Niera islands by Johannes VIngboons. Is there any detailed explanations about the map legend of Niera Islands? or more text about it.
Thank you
Vincent Rumahloine