Top of page

Article Soo D'oude Songen Soo Pepen De Jongen (As the old sing, so the young twitter), possibly by Cornelis Danckerts I, engraver and publisher, ca. 1603-before 1656; or, Cornelis Danckerts II, draughtsman, engraver, and print dealer, active 1637-1684 after a painting by Jacob Jordaens, history and portrait painter, draughtsman, watercolorist, and engraver, 1593-1678

after a painting by Jacob Jordaens, history and portrait painter, draughtsman, watercolorist, and engraver, 1593-1678

This is a family scene before a table set with food and drink. At the left, an old man with spectacles holds a book and sings; next to the old man is a bagpiper who plays a pipe decorated with an animal head. A young woman in a feathered hat is seated at the center and holds a child in her lap who plays a whistle. Another child sits to her right (viewer's left) and plays a recorder. At the right, an old woman with spectacles is seated in a hooded rattan chair and sings, holding a paper in her hands; and, a dog, its head resting on the table, is at the far right corner. Dishes of food and fruit, a pitcher and glass, are on a cloth-covered table.

Here is a translation of the inscription: "Frequently, what the elders sing with open mouth, cautious youth strives to play on their flutes. Zeuxis depicted this well and he would have surpassed art, if these old people were brought to life and sound to the flutes."[1]

This print was included in The Pipers: An Exhibition of Engravings, Watercolors and Lithographs from the Dayton C. Miller Collection, Library of Congress, March 1977.

About the Artists

Cornelis Danckerts I, engraver and publisher, ca. 1603-before 1656; or, Cornelis Danckerts II, draughtsman, engraver, and print dealer, active 1637-1684
There are two engravers named Cornelis Danckerts in Bénézit. It is not known which of these two artists engraved the Miller print, Soo D'oude Songen Soo Pepen De Jongen (As the old sing, so the young twitter). Cornelis Danckerts I was a Dutch engraver and publisher from Amsterdam, who was born about 1603, and who died in Amsterdam before 1656. He was the son of the youngest brother of the architect also named Cornelis Danckerts. He is to be identified with Cornelis Danckerts of Seevenhoven, a publisher. Cornelis Danckerts II, also a Dutch artist, was a draughtsman, engraver and print seller in Amsterdam from 1637 to 1684. He was the son of the engraver, Justus Danckerts.

Jacob Jordaens, history and portrait painter, draughtsman, watercolorist, and engraver, 1593-1678
Jacob Jordaens was a well-known 17th-century Flemish artist who was born in and died in Antwerp. See Bénézit for long biography and list of his works.

Notes

  1. The translation of the inscription from the Latin is courtesy of David Shive, Washington, D.C., 15 February 2007. [back to article]

About this Item

Title

  • Soo D'oude Songen Soo Pepen De Jongen (As the old sing, so the young twitter), possibly by Cornelis Danckerts I, engraver and publisher, ca. 1603-before 1656; or, Cornelis Danckerts II, draughtsman, engraver, and print dealer, active 1637-1684 after a painting by Jacob Jordaens, history and portrait painter, draughtsman, watercolorist, and engraver, 1593-1678

Headings

  • -  Articles
  • -  Songs and Music

Genre

  • article

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is providing access to these materials for educational and research purposes and makes no warranty with regard to their use for other purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other rights holders (such as holders of publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. There may be content that is protected as "works for hire" (copyright may be held by the party that commissioned the original work) and/or under the copyright or neighboring-rights laws of other nations.

Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permission ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Users should consult the bibliographic information that accompanies each item for specific information. This catalog data provides the details known to the Library of Congress regarding the corresponding items and may assist users in making independent assessments of the legal status of these items as related to their desired uses.

Items included here with the permission of the rights holders are indicated as such in the bibliographic record for each item.

The Strad magazine has generously allowed us to reproduce two articles in this presentation: “Exhibition Report: Born in the USA” (July 2006) and “National Treasure” (November 2006).  Users may need to contact The Strad for any re-use of the articles.

In some cases, the Library was unable to identify a possible rights holder and has elected to place some of those items online as an exercise of fair use for strictly non-commercial educational uses. The Library of Congress would like to learn more about these materials and would like to hear from individuals or institutions that have any additional information or know of their history. Please contact:  Performing Arts Reading Room.

Suggested credit line: Library of Congress, Music Division.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Soo D'oude Songen Soo Pepen De Jongen As the old sing, so the young twitter, possibly by Cornelis Danckerts I, engraver and publisher, -before 1656; or, Cornelis Danckerts II, draughtsman, engraver, and print dealer, active 1637 to 1684 after a painting by Jacob Jordaens, history and portrait painter, draughtsman, watercolorist, and engraver, 1593 to 1678. Web.. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200182883/.

APA citation style:

Soo D'oude Songen Soo Pepen De Jongen As the old sing, so the young twitter, possibly by Cornelis Danckerts I, engraver and publisher, -before 1656; or, Cornelis Danckerts II, draughtsman, engraver, and print dealer, active 1637 to 1684 after a painting by Jacob Jordaens, history and portrait painter, draughtsman, watercolorist, and engraver, 1593 to 1678. [Web.] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200182883/.

MLA citation style:

Soo D'oude Songen Soo Pepen De Jongen As the old sing, so the young twitter, possibly by Cornelis Danckerts I, engraver and publisher, -before 1656; or, Cornelis Danckerts II, draughtsman, engraver, and print dealer, active 1637 to 1684 after a painting by Jacob Jordaens, history and portrait painter, draughtsman, watercolorist, and engraver, 1593 to 1678. Web.. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200182883/>.