ABSTRACT
On February 9, 1604, the regents of Leiden University considered a written application
for a faculty position. In a short letter, a 77-year-old man from Friesland presented himself
as potential professor of “perspective, Ingenie, en de architecture” (perspective,
engineering, and architecture). The request was supported by a recommendation
from the stadhouder of the Dutch Republic, Maurits of Nassau, and alluded to a vast
experience with art and architectural practice. The applicant claimed he had authored
“numerous books, which disclose the secrets of many diverse subjects, all using copper
engravings.” Prints or no, the regents of Leiden were unimpressed. They turned the old
man’s application down, dispatching a polite note and a consolatory gift of 25 guilders.1
