Tekenen en vasseren : Het bedrijf van Jan Peter van Baurscheit (1699 - 1768) en de architectuur in het tweede kwart van de achttiende eeuw

Jan Peter van Baurscheit the Younger (1699 - 1768) was educated to become a sculptor and an architect in the studio of his father, J.P. van Baurscheit the elder (1669 - 1728), who owned one of the leading sculptor studios in Antwerpen. Van Baurscheit continued the bussiness after his father's death in 1728. He matured into an independent architect with his own bureau. He was the leading man at the office and chief designer. Van Baurscheit confined his activities to tekenen en vasseren. From the Rekeningen it was to be concluded what tekenen and vasseren meant. Namely the conferring with and consulting of principals, the designing of projects and the supervising of the execution of the designs by sculptors, stonemasons, suppliers of marble and all other crafts that were involved. Van Baurscheit built his first important town palaces and coutry-seats in Zeeland and Holland. In the forties and fifties he built his masterpieces in and around Antwerp such as the town palaces and country-seats for members of de Du Bois and Van Susteren families. Some other important commissions came from town councils and church committees such as the townhall of Lier, the Koepoort and the renovation of the townhall at Middelburg His architecture met the expectations of which his principals understood by le bon goût. His buildings were marvelled at by conoisseurs recognising contemporary classsical architecture with adaptions to local circumstances. The works in part III, reflect the interpretation by Van Baurscheit and his principals of how architecture in the second quarter of the eightteenth century was supposed to look. Van Baurscheit proved that the use of modern (French) ornament and the free interpretation of clasical rules did not necessary lead to excesses and extravagances (as some architecture in this period of rococo does). Van Baurscheit s oeuvre could function as a framework from which other architecture in the second quarter of the eigtteenth century could be interpretated and examined. Reference to this was missing till now. In connection with the works of Van Baurcheit there was no other studie available of architects. During this period, the second quarter and around the middle of the eightteenth century till about 1765, silversmiths, plasterers and sculptors like Van Baurscheit himself produced their own architecture. Van Baurscheit is one of the few sculptor architects in the Netherlands, whose education and whose architectural views have been examined and reconstructed by this thesis. Concept of architectural uniformity In the catalogue Rococo in Nederland that was published in 2002 at the occasion of the exhibition of Dutch Rococo in Amsterdam in the Rijksmuseum, the authors constatated that stilistic uniformity was missing in important buildings of the period. After Daniël Marot there would have been no leading architects who were able to create this concept of architectural uniformity. However, the study of Van Baurscheit proves that in the second quarter of the eightteenth century, also in the Netherlands there were architects who had proper understanding of the international developments in architecture. In his important buildings see Part III of this thesis it is obvious that Van Baurscheit aimed at stilistic uniformity in his own way. In all designs of Van Baurscheit it is apparent that he strived after creating beauty of details in the interior as well as on the outside of the buildings. The experience of symmetrical, harmonious architecture played an important role in his architectural concepts. This strive after ideal architecture could also be seen in his other designs such as in funural monuments and church interiors as altars and organs. As far as his principals were concerned, Van Baurscheit was the man with le bon goût. Van Baurscheit also possessed the qualities of the sculptor and designers who knew all about precious ornaments and sculptures in all types of materials, for their houses and gardens. He was in this respect a representative for the architect of the second quarter of the eightteenth century. His architecture represented also the ideal of the generation of sculptor architects of Van Baurscheit the elder. They aimed to develop the important architecture in Antwerp to a higher level. H.F. Verbrugghen was one of the most important representatives of this Antwerpse architectuur school as was explained in part I of this thesis. In Van Baurscheits time architects were supposed to have knowledge of the local building traditions and to integrate them in the more universal directives of international architectural developments.

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