Jan Luyken

Johannes or Jan Luyken (16 April 1649 – 5 April 1712) was a Dutch poet, illustrator, and engraver.

Biography

He was born and died in Amsterdam, where he learned engraving from his father Kaspar Luyken.

Luyken married at 19 and had several children, including renowned engraver Caspar Luyken.

He also published Het Menselyk Bedryf ("The Book of Trades") in 1694, which contains numerous engravings of 17th-century trades by Luiken and his son Caspar (Caspaares).

Cultural references Joris-Karl Huysmans' anti-hero Des Esseintes in À rebours was an admirer of Luyken's engravings and had prints from his Religious Persecutions hung in his boudoir. He described them as "a collection of appalling plates displaying all the tortures which religious fanaticism has invented." Des Esseintes was enthralled not just by Luyken's graphic depictions, but also his ability to reconstruct times and places in his works.

Gallery