Cornelis de Graeff (23 August 1671,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

– 16 February 1719,

Ilpendam Ilpendam is a village in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is a part of the municipality of Waterland, and lies about 4 km south of Purmerend. It covers an area of 2.46 km2 (0.95 sq mi) and had 1,780 inhabitants in 2008. Ilp ...

) was a member of the family

De Graeff De Graeff (; also: '' De Graef, Graef, Graeff, Graaff'', Graaf and ''De Graeff van Polsbroek'') is an old Dutch patrician and noble family, The Amsterdam line of the family played an important role during the Dutch Golden Age. They were at the ...

, a prominent

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

family from the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...

. He hold the title 20st Free Lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam.

Biography

His parents were

Pieter de Graeff Pieter de Graeff (15 August 1638 – 3 June 1707), was a member of the De Graeff-family from the Dutch Golden Age. He was an Amsterdam Regent during the late 1660s and the early 1670s, and held the titles as Lord of the semi-sovereign Fief Zui ...

and his cousin

Jacoba Bicker Jacoba is a given name, a female version of Jacob, which has been a common given name in the Netherlands. In daily life, many people use(d) short or more modern forms like ''Coba'', ''Cobi'', ''Cobie'', ''Coby'', ''Coosje'', ''Cootje'', ''Jackie'', ...

, his younger brother was Johan de Graeff, the Free Lord of Zuid-Polsbroek. His uncle was

Johan de Witt Johan de Witt (; 24 September 1625 – 20 August 1672), ''lord of Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp en IJsselvere'', was a Dutch statesman and a major political figure in the Dutch Republic in the mid-17th century, the Fi ...

, Statesman of the ''True Freedom'', husband of

Wendela Bicker Wendela Bicker (Amsterdam, baptized 30 December 1635 – 1 July 1668) was the wife of Johan de Witt. She was one of the richest young female commoners of her time and she married one of the most influential republican politicians in the Netherl ...

, sister of Cornelis' mother Jacoba. Cornelis de Graeff was a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of St. Pieter at

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

. Most of the time he resided at his castle

Ilpenstein Ilpenstein Castle (dutch: ''Ilpenstein'', ''Huis te Ilpendam'', ''Hof te Ilpendam'') was a castle of the Free and high Lordship of Purmerend, Purmerland and Ilpendam, located in Ilpendam (Waterland) in the north of the city of Amsterdam. History ...

. He also owned ''Bronstee'', a country estate near

Heemstede Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the fourth richest municipality of the Netherlands. History Heemstede formed around the Castle ''Heemstede'' that was built overlooking the ...

. De Graeff was mentally disturbed and remained unmarried. Since his father's death in 1707 he was under the tutelage of Jacobus de Fremeri, and died at his castle Ilpenstein on February 16, 1719. His successor as Free Lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam was his cousin Gerrit de Graeff. Cornelis' burial chapel is in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, in the Sint Cornelis choir, the family grave of the De Graeff family. At Ilpenstein castle De Graeff had a famous art collection, including

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

s ''Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph'' (the sitters were

Wendela de Graeff Vendela is a feminine given name. It may refer to: * Wendla Åberg (1791–1864), Swedish dancer * Wendela Hebbe, Swedish journalist * Vendela Kirsebom, Turkish-Norwegian-Swedish model and actress * Vendela Skytte, Swedish poet * Wendela Gustafva ...

and her two sons) and the ''Portrait of

Andries de Graeff Andries de Graeff (19 February 1611 – 30 November 1678) was a powerful member of the Amsterdam branch of the De Graeff - family during the Dutch Golden Age. He became a mayor of Amsterdam and a powerful Amsterdam regent after the death of his ...

''. The two famous paintings, both by Rembrandt, can be seen today at Wilhelmshöhe in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

. De Graeff also owned

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, , ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group ...

ens painting ''

Catharina Hooft Catharina Pietersdr Hooft (28 December 1618 – 30 September 1691) was a woman of the Dutch Golden Age. She became famous at a very early age, when she was painted by Frans Hals. At the age of sixteen she married Cornelis de Graeff, nin ...

with her Nurse''. In 1710 a copy of Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch' was assigned to him. Around 1712, De Graeff's curator De Fremery sold the piece to

Pieter van der Lip Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 ...

. Rembrandt expert

Abraham Bredius Dr. Abraham Bredius (18 April 1855 in Amsterdam – 13 March 1946 in Monaco) was a Dutch art collector, art historian, and museum curator. Life Bredius travelled widely, visiting various art collections in his youth, and worked at the Dutch Mus ...

suspected that a second copy of 'The Night Watch', painted by

Gerrit Lundens Gerrit Lundens (1622 – 1686), was a Dutch painter known for his genre scenes, miniature portraits and vanitas paintings. He also made copies after famous Dutch masters. Biography He was born in Amsterdam and married Agniet Mathijs of Antwe ...

, had gone to Cornelis de Graeff; which turned out to be correct. A painting after Lundens was also present at Pieter de Graeff, after the well-known drawing in the album by De Graeffs uncle

Frans Banninck Cocq Frans Banninck Cocq (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Banning), ''lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam'' (1605–1655) was a burgemeester (mayor), knight and military person of Amsterdam in the mid-17th century. He belonged to the wealthy and powerful ...

. This album has been owned by the De Graeff family since 1678.Het Maecenaat ndriesde Graeff en Rembrandt, uit Genootschap Amstelodamum, Jaargang augustus/september 1969, p 155

Coat of arms

The personal coat of arms of Cornelis de Graeff is quarterd with a heart shield and shows the following symbols: * heart shield shows the three silver rhombuses on red (originally from the family

Van Woerdern van Vliet A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

) of the High Lordship Zuid-Polsbroek (that Heart shield from Zuid-Polsbroek as a sign of family ownership, but not from Cornelis de Graeff himself) * field 1 (left above) shows the silver shovel on red of their paternal ancestors, the

Herren von Graben Herren von Graben, also named ''von (dem) Graben'', ''vom Graben'', ''Grabner'', ''Grabner zu Rosenburg'', ''Graben zu Kornberg'', ''Graben zu Sommeregg'', ''Graben von (zum) Stein'', and ''ab dem Graben'' was the name of an old Austrian noble fam ...

* field 2 (right above) shows the silver swan on blue of the Fief Vredenhof r that one (Waterland) of their maternal ancestors, the De Grebber family * field 3 (left below) shows the silver goose in blue of Purmerland (Lordship of Purmerend, Purmerland and Ilpendam, High Lordship Purmerland and Ilpendam) * field 4 (right below) shows the red and black lions on gold (the arms of the County of Holland) for

(High Lordship Purmerland and Ilpendam) above a blue area * shield holders are two silver swans * helmet covers in red and silver * helm adornment shows an upright silver spade with ostrich feathers (Herren von Graben) * motto: MORS SCEPTRA LIGONIBUS AEQUAT (DEATH MAKES SEPTRES AND HOES EQUAL)

Notes

Literature

* Graeff, P. de (P. de Graeff Gerritsz en

Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek Jhr. Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek (born ''Dirk de Graeff''; named also ''Van Polsbroek'' or ''Polsbroek'') (Amsterdam, 28 August 1833 – 27 June 1916, The Hague) was a Dutch aristocrat, merchant and diplomat. Between 1863 and 1868 he was Dutch C ...

) ''Genealogie van de familie De Graeff van Polsbroek'', Amsterdam 1882. * Bruijn, J. H. de ''Genealogie van het geslacht De Graeff van Polsbroek 1529/1827'', met bijlagen. De Built 1962-63. * Elias, J.E., ''De Vroedschap van Amsterdam'' 1578-1795 (1903-1905 Haarlem), page 423 * Moelker, H.P., ''De heerlijkheid Purmerland en Ilpendam'' (1978 Purmerend), page 178

External links

Cornelis de Graeff II. at ''Heren van Holland'' (nl)

Biographie from his father Pieter de Graeff - Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek. part II

* ttp://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/r/rembran/painting/portrai2/graeff.html Rembrandts ''Portrait of Andries de Graeff'', Staatliche Museen Kassel {{DEFAULTSORT:Graeff, Cornelis 1671 births 1719 deaths Nobility from Amsterdam Cornelis II., de Graeff Lords of Purmerland and Ilpendam