The ''Pan Poëticon Batavum'' was a collection of small portraits of poets mounted on plates that were kept in a curiosity cabinet by the 18th-century Dutch painter Arnoud van Halen.

History of the collection

Van Halen began assembling his collection around 1700 by painting miniature portraits himself that he copied from engravings. For contemporary poets he enlisted the help of friends and colleagues. Before he died, Van Halen managed to collect 346 portraits. Currently, 80 of them are part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Van Halen's cabinet was very popular, and consequently several books mentioned it or had it as a subject. These books included ''

Schouburgh ''The Great Theatre of Dutch Painters and Paintresses'', or ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'', as it was originally known in Dutch, is a series of artist biographies with engraved portraits written by the 1 ...

'' by

Arnold Houbraken Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadtwisting'' (Twyndraat) fr ...

. Houbraken claimed that the cabinet held portraits of over 100 people (Houbraken was writing in 1712).Arnoud van Halen's "Kabinet" mentioned
in ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'' (1718) by

, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature

History of the book

The most notable book was published by the man who purchased this collection after Van Halen died in 1732, Michiel de Roode. De Roode published the book in 1773 as a member of Leiden's learned society ‘Kunst wordt door arbeid verkreegen’ (art is accomplished by work) which paid for the edition. That the book was popular is attested by the fact that in 1808 the Teyler's Stichting gave Wybrand Hendriks the request to purchase it for up to 500 guilders at auction, and Hendriks bought it for 200 guilders.Teylers Museum
File:Arnoud van Halen - titlepage Pan Poeticon 1773.jpg, Title page of the book published by ‘Kunst wordt door arbeid verkreegen’ in 1773 File:Arnoud van Halen - Samuel Ampzing - after Jonas Suyderhoef after Frans Hals.jpg, Portrait of

Samuel Ampzing Samuel Ampzing (24 June 1590 – 29 July 1632) was a Dutch minister, poet and purist. Biography Born to the minister Johannes Ampzing in Haarlem, in 1616 Samuel became a minister himself at Rijsoord in Strevelshoek, and in 1619 at the Sint-B ...

after an engraving by

Jonas Suyderhoef Jonas Suyderhoef (1613 in Haarlem – 1686 in Haarlem), was a Dutch Golden Age engraver. Biography According to the RKD he was known as a draughtsman and printmaker.Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, , ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group ...

An incomplete list of poet portraits:

References

Pan Poëticon Batavum
on Google books with list of names
Pan Poëticon Batavum
by

Lambert Bidloo Lambert Bidloo (30 August 1638 – 11 June 1724), of Amsterdam, was by religion, a ''Zonist'' Mennonite, by profession, an apothecary and botanist and by passion, a man of letters and translator. After a solid education in classical letters and ...

in the DBNL {{Authority control 1773 non-fiction books Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Dutch paintings Portrait art Books about the visual arts Illustrated books