Sadeler family

Who was Sadeler family?

The Sadeler family were the largest, and probably the most successful of the dynasties of Flemish engravers that were dominant in Northern European printmaking in the later 16th and 17th centuries, as both artists and publishers. As with other dynasties such as the Wierixes and Van de Passe family, the style of family members is very similar, and their work often hard to tell apart in the absence of a signature or date, or evidence of location. Altogether at least ten Sadelers worked as engravers, in the Spanish Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Bohemia and Austria.

Much of their best work was high quality reproductive prints of contemporary artists such as Bartholomeus Spranger or the Venetian Bassano family, that were important in spreading the reputation and style of these artists.