Jeremias Falck
Encyclopedia
Jeremias Falck (1610–1677) was an engraver of the 17th century Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

, born and active in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He signed his works as Falck Polonus (Falck the Pole
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

) or Falck Gedanensis (Falck of Gdańsk).

Life and professional career

Born probably around 1610 in Danzig (Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...

), in the province of Polish Prussia
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...

, a part of the Poland. Falck studied and worked with Wilhelm Hondius. In 1639 he moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, and in 1649 he became Royal Swedish engraver for Queen Christina
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...

 in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 until 1654, when she became a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

. He then went to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, were he engraved a portrait of Willem Blaeu
Willem Blaeu
Willem Janszoon Blaeu , also abbreviated to Willem Jansz. Blaeu, was a Dutch cartographer, atlas maker and publisher....

, and to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. In 1662 in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 he published 16 engravings of flowers and plants. He engraved the royals of the places he worked and he intermittently worked in Danzig.

Jeremias' brother Hans Falck was as Messerschmidt (knife smith) at Neugarten, Danzig. In 1650 Jeremias' marriage in Danzig is recorded and later Hans and his Catharine were recorded as witnesses to the birth of Jeremias' child. A letter by Jeremias Falck from 1658 stated ...ich habe eine geraume Zeit sehr grosse Schmerzen im rechten Arm (...that for a long time he has great pain in his right arm).

He lived again in Danzig. Many of Falck's engravings are based on portraits by Daniel Schultz and other painters. Falck's work was admired and used by publisher Georg Forster
Georg Forster
Johann Georg Adam Forster was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist, and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father on several scientific expeditions, including James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific...

, such as engraved illustrations for "Selenography" of Johannes Hevelius
Johannes Hevelius
Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish:Some sources refer to Hevelius as German:*Encyplopedia Britannica * of the Royal Society was a councilor and mayor of Danzig , Pomeranian Voivodeship, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...

 and "Orationes" of Jerzy Ossoliński
Jerzy Ossolinski
Prince Jerzy Ossoliński was a Polish szlachcic, Crown Court Treasurer from 1632, voivode of Sandomierz from 1636, Reichsfürst since 1634, Crown Deputy Chancellor from 1639, Great Crown Chancellor from 1643, starost of Bydgoszcz , Lubomel , Puck and Bolim , magnate, politician and diplomat...

, Great Crown Chancellor of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Falck lies buried in St. Peter and St. Paul's Church. The 1890 book with dedication by the great-grandson Herman Eugen Falk thanks a number of Polish writers who collected works by Falck.

Of about three hundred portraits and pictures, which were personally inspected by J.C. Block for his book, nearly all works show J. Falck, sculp., but there are some that identify him as Swedish sculptor, when he was in salaried employment in Sweden. There are also listed about nine copper-etching Portrait Ovals mostly of Polish Bishops by Falck alone or with name: Dankert or Georg Förster (Georg Forster
Georg Forster
Johann Georg Adam Forster was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist, and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father on several scientific expeditions, including James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific...

). These nine metal ovals are mounted on rectangles and the rectangles are inscribed with "Jeremias Falck Polonus".

Literature


External links

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