Frans Crabbe van Espleghem was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

artist born c. 1480

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, d. 1553 Mechelen, Belgium. Frans Crabbe began exploring printmaking after

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

's visit to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1521. Crabbe was known for doing

engravings Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

etchings Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

and

woodcuts Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

Master of the Crayfish

Early artists did not sign their names or identify themselves as the maker of the work in any way. At some point artists began adding discrete logos, monograms, initials, etc. to their works but in a number of cases the actual artist has not been identified. Where the artist has not been identified, all works done with the particular logo are assumed to have been done by the same artist and are referred to by the identifying marks e.g.: The Master E.S or Master I.B with the Bird. Crabbe was initially known as "Master of the Crayfish". This was based on a crayfish type logo in his prints. As per Hind:
:Closely dependent on the style of

Quentin Matsys Quentin Matsys ( nl, Quinten Matsijs) (1466–1530) was a Flemish painter in the Early Netherlandish tradition. He was born in Leuven. There is a tradition alleging that he was trained as an ironsmith before becoming a painter. Matsys was active ...

, and influenced in some degree by

Lucas van Leyden Lucas van Leyden (1494 – 8 August 1533), also named either Lucas Hugensz or Lucas Jacobsz, was a Dutch painter and printmaker in engraving and woodcut. Lucas van Leyden was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and was a very ac ...

(note the long forms in the Execution of the Baptist) stands the engraver who uses a Crayfish as his signature. He has been identified with a certain Frans Crabbe (or Crabeth) of Mechlin, but the hypothesis is a mere conjecture. He varies the lineal system of his predecessors by a very liberal use of dotted work (e.g. Death of Lucretia, B. 23), and also combines with his engraving a delicately etched line. Some of his plates (e.g. the Execution of John the Baptist, P. 28) seem entirely composed of bitten work, and the influence of Dirick Vellert’s technique is unmistakable. Friedlander positively identified the "Master of the Crayfish" as being Frans Crabbe in 1921.Max J. Friedländer: Nicolas Hogenberg und Frans Crabbe die Maler von Mecheln. In: Jahrbuch der Preuszischen Kunstsammlungen 42. Bd., (1921), S. 161–168

Biblio

Adam Bartsch Johann Adam Bernhard Ritter von Bartsch (17 August 1757 – 21 August 1821) was an Austrian scholar and artist. His catalogue of old master prints is the foundation of print history, and he was himself a printmaker practicing engraving and et ...

. ''Le Peintre Graveur'' (Vienna: J. V. Degen, 1803–1821): vol. VII, pp. 527–534; vol. VIII, pp. 5. *Adam Bartsch. et al. ''The Illustrated Bartsch'' (New York: Abaris Books, 1978 - ongoing 2001): vol. 13, pp. 279–298; vol. 14, pp. 173 *Popham, A. E. ''Engravings and Etchings of Frans Crabbe van Espleghem''

The Print Collector’s Quarterly ''The Print Collector's Quarterly'' (initially hyphenated as ''The Print-Collector's Quarterly''), was a quarterly periodical that was begun in 1911 and continued under various publishers until 1950. The original founders were art dealer Frederick ...

1935 Apr Vol 22, No. 2, p93 -115 *Popham, A. E. ''Catalogue of Engravings and Etchings of Frans Crabbe''

1935 July Vol 22, No. 3, p195 - 211 *Hind, A. M. ''A Short History of Engraving & Etching''; London; Archibald Constable & Co 1908 p. 90 *Bassens, M. ''Frans Crabbe van Espleghem (ca. 1480–1553). New research on the life and works of the Master with the Crab, with special attention for his graphic work'' (unpublished dissertation, KU Leuven) 2016.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Crabbe van Espleghem, Frans 1480s births 1553 deaths 16th-century engravers Flemish engravers Flemish printmakers Artists from Mechelen