Willem Hondius

The recorded working language is Dutch and Latin. The field of work recorded is engraving process, visual arts and painting. Places of work recorded in the authority are The Hague and Gdańsk. Work by Willem Hondius is recorded in the collections of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Finnish National Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria, Museum De Lakenhal and Yale Center for British Art.

• Name — Willem Hondius • Born — c. 1598 • Birthplace — The Hague • Died — 1652 or 1658 • Place of death — Danzig (Gdańsk) • Field — Engraving • Movement — Baroque • Patrons — Władysław IV Vasa, John II Casimir

Willem Hondius was one of seven children of Hendrik Hondius the Elder (1573 – c. 1649) and Sara Jansdochter. His father was one of the most important Dutch reproductive printmakers and publishers in the early 17th century. A connection with the Hondius family of cartographers in Amsterdam is possible but has not been established. In 1636, Willem visited Danzig in Poland. In 1641, he moved there from The Hague for good. Hondius was supported at the royal court of King Władysław IV Waza. The King awarded him the title of Chalcographus privilegialus (privileged engraver) and Chalcographus Regius (Royal engraver). He was married twice, first in 1632 in The Hague to Kornelia van den Enden, secondly in 1646 in Danzig to Anna Mackensen, daughter of the Royal Goldsmith. In August 1651, in the wake of the Khmelnytsky Uprising, Hondius joined the army of Janusz Radziwiłł conquering Kiev. The first ever portrait of the famous Cossack leader Bohdan Khmelnytsky was engraved during this campaign. Nothing is known of Hondius after 1652, though he may have lived until 1658.