Pierre Cruche, Pierre Vase

Place: Paris

Biography:

Pierre Eskrich, also known as Pierre Cruche or Pierre Vase, was a French engraver, illustrator, and painter born in Paris around 1518 and died in Lyon around 1590. He was connected with humanists during the Reformation and was known for his 16-piece Mappe-Monde Nouvelle Papistique, which depicted the Protestant's satirical view of the Catholic world. He also illustrated an unpublished project on birds. Eskrich was born in Paris, the son of a German goldsmith named Jacob Krug who came from Freiburg, Brisgau. He worked as an apprentice to Pierre Vallet, embroiderer for the Duke of Nevers, and later titled himself as embroiderer for François de Mandelot, the governor of Lyon. He married Jeanne Berthet, daughter of a Protestant merchant in Lyon around 1548 and settled in Geneva in 1552 or 1554. He became a citizen of Geneva under the name Cruche in 1560 and was involved in engraving the satirical Papistic World Map for Jean-Baptiste Trento in 1561. He also produced wood engravings for use as frontispieces, ornaments, and typography used in the works of Guillaume Rondelet, Balthazar Arnoullet, Jean Pillehotte, Berthelemy Honorat, and for the bookseller Guillaume Rouillé. Eskrich made studies of birds and plants with Jacques Daléchamps and was involved in a project to illustrate birds organized by Benoît Textor and his son Claude along with collaborations with Robert Constantin, Conrad Gessner, and Jean Tagaut.