Leidschendam – Iven Besoet, 1755

LEIDSCHENDAM

“Gezicht van den Leidschendam, van de kant van Leyden te zien” [View of the Leidschendam, seen from the Leiden side], copper engraving made by Iven Besoet and published in 1755 by Hendrik Florisz. Scheurleer. Coloured by a later hand. Size (print): approx. 28.5 × 40.5 cm.

We see the Delftsekade in Leidschendam. Although the municipality of Leidschendam was only established in 1938 from the villages of Veur and Stompwijk, the name Leidschendam had been in use for centuries for the built-up area around the lock in the canal known as the Vliet. This obstacle in the shipping route between Leiden and Delft generated much economic activity, as all passengers and cargo had to change boats at this point. Buildings soon arose on both sides of the dam.

The Hague publisher and bookseller Hendrik Florisz. Scheurleer (1692–1768) capitalised on the popularity of the cityscape in the mid-18th century. He published a series of eighteen highly informative views of The Hague and its immediate surroundings, all of which he dedicated to mayors, bailiffs, or secretaries of The Hague. They were engraved by Iven Besoet (c. 1720–1769), an artist from Leiden. The success of the series is evident from the various copies (mostly optical prints) that were made after them. Whether Besoet profited much from it is very doubtful, for if the biographies are to be believed, he was evicted from his home for non-payment, after which he, wrapped in a blanket, lived on the street and died shortly thereafter.

This view of Leidschendam is dedicated to Pieter Gys, “Councillor and Governing Burgomaster of the City of Leiden.”

Price: Euro 750,-