oa Exchanges between friends and relatives, artists and their patron: the correspondence between Cornelis Galle I and II and Balthasar Moretus I

The famous Antwerp printers and book publishers Jan II and Balthasar I Moretus, worked closely together with the so called ‘Galle workshop’ for the production of book illustrations and title pages. Balthasar Moretus, who was responsible for the substantive direction of the company, had a particular interest in the appearance and quality of the illustrations adorning his publications. The correspondence between him and his brothers-in-law, the engravers Cornelis I and II Galle, who were established in Brussels during the second half of the 1630s, reveals the hierarchical relationship between the employer and his employees. Cornelis I Galle had to follow the publishing schedule and standards of Balthasar. In fact, the latter expected the Galle brothers to be available at all times. Nevertheless Cornelis I got some responsibilities from Balthasar, like buying the copperplates or the permission to alter images when necessary. During the production of engravings, annotated and corrected proof impressions were sent back and forth between the two parties. Consultation and confidence in each others skills seemed very crucial in the context of quality control.