Ruckers
The Ruckers (variants: Rückers, RÜCKERS ) were the most famous Flemish harpsichord maker from Antwerp in the 16th and 17th century.
Family members
Hans Ruckers (* 1533/55, † 1598 in Mechelen) was the founder of the family dynasty. He settled in 1575 in Antwerp down; This year, he married in the cathedral. 1579 he was admitted as a musical instrument maker by the St. Luke's guild, the Antwerp guild of craftsmen and artists.
Two of his sons were also instrument makers.
Johannes Ruckers (* 1578, † 1642) took over the business after his father's death; he received the approval of the guild in 1611. His responsibilities the maintenance of the organs was in several churches in the Antwerp area.
His son Andreas Ruckers II (* 1607, † before 1667) gave, after apprenticeship with the father in 1637 the admission of the guild. He worked most likely together with the Father and survived him only three years. His sister, Anna Catherina Ruckers (* 1615, † after 1672), was the second wife ( oo 1644) of the Dutch still life painter Jan Davidsz. de Heem.
John Couchet (* 1615, † 1655), son of Catharina Ruckers, a daughter of Hans Ruckers, trained and worked in the workshop of his uncle John until his death in 1642 The following year, 1643, the guild took him into their ranks. on. His reputation as a harpsichord maker exceeded even the Ruckers. He had but no longer zoom ranged several children who also followed in the footsteps of the family, in their craftsmanship to the ancestors.
Musical Instruments
Approximately 130 instruments from the period 1580-1680 have survived the centuries. The vast variety of shapes and quality, they form the most remarkable and most representative example of the Flemish school. Among them are spinets, virginals, Muselaars and a two-manual harpsichords and. The rarest instruments, harpsichords, referred to as " mother and child ". It is about two mutually set instruments that can be played simultaneously.
The remarkable sound of the Ruckers harpsichords and Couchet made them the most sought-after instruments of the time. The nobility and the most famous artists, especially in the Dutch and French room of the 17th and 18th centuries were the owners of these instruments.
Several Ruckers instruments are portrayed by the keyboard collector Andreas Beurmann in a book about his collection. Some of the instruments are on display on the ground floor of the Hamburg Museum of Arts and Crafts in the Beurmann collection.
Harpsichords of the Ruckers family members were among the top products of the keyboard instrument making in their time. Later this was true for pianos in the Augsburger family Johann Andreas Stein, then for English fortepiano by Broadwood, then for the French manufacturer Pleyel and Erard, and since the late 19th century for Steinway & Sons. Therefore belong Ruckers harpsichord of the icons of the historical music performance practice and also the collector.