Directory of printmakers
Valck, Gerard (1651/2-1726) Said by Vertue to have been a servant to Abraham Blooteling, whose sister he married, Valck apparently came to London from Amsterdam with Blooteling at the behest of David Loggan in the early 1670s. His output in England included both engravings and mezzotints. Later, Valck returned to Amsterdam, where he entered a publishing partnership with Pieter Schenk, specialising in maps and globes and taking over the old Hondius shop.
Vandrebanc,
Peter (1649-97) A French engraver who apparently came to England with the portrait
painter, Henri Gascar, in the early 1670s with a view to engraving his portraits. Vertue
tells us that his large and refined portrait prints were much admired, and he later produced
engravings of Verrio’s decorative work at Hampton Court and the illustrations to Jean
Tijou’s New Booke of Drawings of ironwork (1694), though he appears
to have died in reduced circumstances.
Vaughan, Robert (c. 1600- before 1663-4) Apparently a Welshman by origin (various of his works have Welsh connections), Vaughan was one of the most prolific engravers in England in the Caroline period. An active royalist in the Civil War period who also had antiquarian interests, he engraved plates for Elias Ashmole’s Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum (1652). William Vaughan (fl. 1653-78) was apparently his son; he worked for John Field and engraved title-pages for several editions of the Bible.
Voerst, Robert
van (1597-1636) A pupil of Crispijn de Passe, the Dutch engraver Robert van Voerst had
arrived in London by 1627, probably on de Passe’s recommendation. He was responsible for
various royal and other portraits and contributed to van Dyck’s Iconography, including a portrait of himself.
Vorsterman,
Lucas (1595-1675) Vorsterman moved to London from Antwerp, after falling out with
Rubens, by whom he had formerly been employed; the date of his arrival is uncertain, but he
was certainly there by 1623 and he remained there until 1629, when he returned to Antwerp.
He retained his English links after his return to Antwerp, executing work there for the Earl
of Arundel; he also contributed to van Dyck’s Iconography.