Johannes Wierix

Johannes Wierix (1549 – ) was a Flemish engraver, draughtsman and publisher. He was a very accomplished engraver who made prints after his own designs as well as designs by local and foreign artists. He further made engravings on silver and ivory.

Together with other members of the Wierix family of engravers he played an important role in spreading appreciation for Netherlandish art abroad as well as in creating art that supported the Catholic cause in the Southern Netherlands. Johannes Wierix is also known for his miniature pen drawings.

Life He was born in Antwerp as the son of Anton Wierix I . In addition, he occasionally published his own engravings himself. Johannes Wierix was so much in demand that he could exact such a high price for his work that Plantin was not always able or willing to engage him for a publication project.

Johannes Wierix is last documented in Antwerp in 1594. He is subsequently recorded as living in Brussels where he was employed by the Brussels court of Archduke Ernest of Austria. He may already have moved to Brussels by 1601 as on 28 July of that year he failed to appear in Antwerp in the settlement of a deal involving family property. There is a firm record for his residency in Brussels in 1612.

Work General

Despite his reputation for leading a dissolute life style, Johannes Wierix was a prolific artist who created a number of designs, drawings, engravings for prints and engravings on silver and ivory. Some engravings of Johannes have been misattributed to his brother Hieronymous because he signed some of his works with the monogram IHW or HW, in which the H stands for one of the short forms of his name, i.e. Hans.

Graphic work Wierix worked on some of the important publications of the late 16th century. This includes a commission by the Jesuits and other militant Counter-Reformation orders on Catholic materials. His prints played an important propagandistic role in the Catholic Church's recovery of the southern Netherlands.

During his residence in Brussels Johannes made miniature pen drawings, which are signed and dated mostly around 1607–1608. These drawings are executed in a meticulous technique, using dots and minute crosshatching as an engraver would.

Engravings on silver and ivory

Johannes Wierix created engravings on precious metals and ivory. Such engravings, in particular of ivory plaques, were incorporated into luxurious small cabinets or chests, but were also set into frames as independent works of art. An Adoration of the Magi (dated to 1590–1600, Walters Art Museum) engraved on ivory shows Wierix' refined technique.