Jacob van Eyck Quarterly

A genuine signature of Jacob van Eyck

Jacob van Eyck was blind at birth, so his job opportunities were limited. He lived in a world without Braille. Being musically gifted was a blessing under the circumstances. Dutch organists and carillonneurs mainly improvised, which could be done without eyes. Memorizing a tune and combining this with musical imagination and instrumental skills was sufficient for those who wanted to play variations. Van Eyck was by no means the only blind professional musician in the Dutch Republic. Another celebrity was Pieter de Vois, the organist of the Sint-Jacobskerk in The Hague, a star pupil of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. And let us not forget the poor wretches who went from door to door to earn some money making music. A moving painting (1652) of Jan Victors shows a blind duo playing the violin and transverse flute, guided by a dog and assisted by a woman with a collection box in her hand and a child on her back. (Illustration 1)

		Illustration 1 Jan Victors 1619—c1676 The blind fiddler (1652), detail (click on the image for the full painting)

Because of his blindness, Van Eyck never learned to write. The nobleman had a rather distinguished way of signing official documents: he used a name stamp. In the city archives of Heusden (where he spent his early years) and Utrecht, many examples can be found on receipts. (Illustration 2) Four times a year he received his salary. Two surviving letters - one written to Constantijn Huygens, the other to the organist Lucas van Lenninck in Deventer - were dictated. They show the handwriting of someone else.

Illustration 2 Van Eyck's name stamp, under a receipt. Heusden, Streekarchief, E211

Nevertheless, an autograph signature survives, due to the fact that Van Eyck forgot to take the stamp with him during a trip in 1621. He still lived with his mother in Heusden.

		On 16 September of that year, he was in Wijk bij Duurstede, a small town 15 miles southeast of Utrecht, situated on the bank of the river Rhine. Wijk bij Duurstede gained worldwide renown through the mill which Jacob van Ruysdael painted in 1670. (Illustration 3) (The present mill is not the same one, by the way.) Business brought Van Eyck there. He was about to receive a yearly interest from church goods, a so-called 'vicarie', being granted to him by no less a person than the Stadholder Prince Maurits.
Illustration 3 Jacob van Ruysdael, The mill at Wijk bij Duurstede (1670)

Van Eyck had been nominated in vain for such an interest twice before, the first time in 1603. I guess, it was meant by Prince Maurits as a kind of orphan's allowance. Van Eyck's father had occupied an important position in the Dutch army. He died in 1604, probably during the siege of Ostend in Flanders. The 'vicarie' would amount to 110 guilders a year.

Van Eyck went to Wijk bij Duurstede in order to authorize the stewart and secretary of the local chapter. When he appeared before the notary without his name stamp, he had to sign the document by hand. He produced a cross, the usual sign for people who were unable to write. (Illustration 4)

Illustration 4 Van Eyck's signature
Wijk bij Duurstede, Streekarchief,
Notarieel Archief, inv.no. 2941, fol. 21

Afterwards, the notary wrote around it: "Dit is tmerc van Jo.r Jacob van Eyck" ('This is the sign of Jr. Jacob van Eyck'). It is probably the sole surviving autograph of the blind master…

Thiemo Wind

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