Intruiging frontispiece by Jacob Harrewijn

Experimental frontispiece by Jacob Harrewijn (1660-1727) in the most likely only surviving copy of “Listigheden der Liefde, Aert Wolsgrijn Amsterdam 1684”. The only other copy known dates from 1705 and has this frontispiece mirrored (see the photo if this edition by Flip Verbeeck. Harrewijn was 24 years old when he made this print, working then mainly in Amsterdam. He was a student of Romeyn de Hooghte.

He was ust married to Henriette de Kamp (in 1682) and went around 1688 to Antwerp, where he was a member of the St. Lukas guild. He was the son of Claes Jacobsz Harrewijn and Maria Hues. His father was a satin worker and widower of Leiden.
Jacobus first wife was Henrietta de Kemp; his second wife was Anne-Catharina van Cleemput whom he married on 20 July 1689 in Deurne (near Antwerp), with whom he had 15 children (De Vries 1885); His sons Jacob-Gerard Harrewijn (1692-1715) and Frans Harrewyn (1700-1764) were also famous.

The book is a rare Dutch translation of a late seventeenth-century French romance, reflecting the enormous popularity of French sentimental fiction in the Dutch Republic. Combining romantic intrigue, disguise and psychological characterization, it illustrates the transition from the monumental baroque romance to the shorter, more modern European novel. Apart from the frontispiece by Jacob Harrewijn (1660-1727) there are 4 unsigned plates: a carriage scene, scene in the dark with people, two men fencing / sword fighting and a bed scene.