Marcus Gerardus map of Bruges from 1562 gets a facelift.

One of the most famous maps of Bruges is the Marcus Gerardus map of 1562.

Marcus Gerards was a Dutchman (Bruges, c. 1521 – probably London, c. 1590) and he caused a furore in Bruges mainly with his town plan, which he drew and painted in 1561-1562 and sometimes engraved on copper himself, commissioned by the town council.

Egbert Gerards, Marcus’ father, was a painter and came from the Northern Netherlands.  In 1516 he became a member of the craft of sculptors and painters. His marriage to Antonine Van der Weerde (†1580) in 1521 resulted in the birth of their son Marcus in the same year but unfortunately the father died. The widow Antonine later remarried the painter Simon Pieters († 1557), who probably also came from the north of the Netherlands. Eventually they had six children together

Marcus Gerards married in 1558 and immediately became a member of the guild of sculptors and painters, where he would hold several administrative functions.

According to his biographer Albert Schouteet Marcus was apprenticed to Bernard of Orley.

After Bernard van Orley’s death, Marcus Gerards was entrusted with the completion of an altarpiece which the Master was working on and which they preferred to have completed by an apprentice.

In the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, there are still a few paintings by Marcus Gerardus, including a large triptych.

Koen Goeminne of the historical research bureau VIGOR CLIUS wants to reprint the Marcus Gerards map of 1562, but of course also optimise it. This means printing in one piece (currently it are 10 separate sheets that have to be pasted) and it will be a nice contiguous map.

The cost for a 190 x 110 cm card (original print) would be 40 euros.

The price for a card 95 x 55 cm is 25 euros .

Contact us:

Koen Goeminne – Historical Research Bureau VIGOR CLIUS

kogoemin@hotmail.com

Here a preview of the map:

www.vigorclius.be

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