“Exceptional” 17th-century sketchbook donated to Rijksmuseum

A 17th-century sketchbook containing 30 drawings has been hailed as a rare find after it was donated to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Several of the sketches have been attributed to the Frisian painter Rombould Uylenburgh, who was a well-known artist in his day but fell into obscurity following his death in 1627 or 1628.

The book is known as the Van Eeghen sketchbook, after the family of Amsterdam merchants who owned it for three centuries. The sketches, some of which were made on blue paper, have retained their colour because the book has not been on display.

The Rijksmuseum said it was unusual for an artist’s sketchbook from the 17th century to survive intact for so long. More commonly, the drawings are torn out and sold individually, or lost.

Only two sketches and a handful of paintings by Uylenburgh were thought to have survived when the sketchbook resurfaced in 1935.

The drawings in the book were only attributed to him in 2013, after the owner saw they were similar to one of the artist’s works in the Rijksmuseum’s collection.

Uylenburgh was born in Friesland in 1580 but spent most of his life in Poland after his family emigrated to Krakow. He because the court painter of King Sigismund III Vasa and went on to build a successful career in the port city of Danzig.

His brother, Hendrik, returned to the Dutch Republic and based himself in Amsterdam. By 1625 had established himself as Rembrandt’s main art dealer and is believed to have introduced the painter to his cousin, Saskia van Uylenburgh, who married Rembrandt in 1633.

The Van Eeghen sketchbook is the focus of a display in the museum from August 19 until November 29.