Balthasar I Moretus

Who was Balthasar I Moretus?

Balthasar Moretus, usually called Balthasar I Moretus to distinguish him from later members of the family with the same name, was the head of the Officina Plantiniana, the printing company established by his grandfather Christophe Plantin in Antwerp in 1555.

Balthasar Moretus was paralysed on his left side. He studied for a few months under Justus Lipsius, but then fell sick and returned home to work in the office. At first he was a proofreader, but soon he took over more responsibilities. After the death of his father Jan Moretus in 1610, Balthasar took over the company together with his brother Jan II. After the death of Jan II in 1619, Balthazar started a partnership with Jan van Meurs, who was married to a sister of Maria De Sweert, the wife of Jan II Moretus. This lasted until 1629. By that time, Balthasar II Moretus, son of Jan II, was helping his uncle, and would eventually take over the company after his death in 1641. Balthasar I never married.

When he was the head of the Officina, he continued ordering illustrations from the workshop of engraver Theodore Galle, but also contacted Peter Paul Rubens to design title pages and provide other illustrations. He knew Rubens from his school period and they were lifelong friends. Apart from many book illustrations and designs, Baltahsar also ordered 19 portraits from Rubens. Many of those are still preserved in the Plantin-Moretus Museum, and include portraits of Christoffel Plantin, Jan I Moretus and Justus Lipsius.