Jan Gildemeester Jansz. ( Lisbon, 1744 – Amsterdam, 1799) was a Dutch art collector.

Biography

Jan Gerard Waldorp - The Gildemeester family near their summer home in Watergraafsmeer

Jan's parents had moved to the Netherlands a few years after the

1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...

. He lived with his father in a house on the Keizersgracht in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, where he began to form an art collection. He was involved in whaling and in 1778 was appointed as Portugal's agent and consul general to the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

. Also in 1778 he donated nearly one hundred thousand guilders for

Felix Meritis Felix Meritis ("Happy through Merit") is the name of an intellectual society in Amsterdam, but subsequently used for the building they built for themselves on the Keizersgracht. History It was built according to a winning design by the arch ...

's house. In 1779 he inherited his father's country seat Frankendael in Watergraafsmeer - when a tree of liberty was placed (the ground was frozen too hard to plant it) on the Dam in Amsterdam in January 1795, it came from Gildemeester's garden. In 1792 he bought the prestigious stone-clad double canal mansion in the

Gouden Bocht The Gouden Bocht (English: "Golden Bend") is the most prestigious part of the Herengracht in Amsterdam, Netherlands, between Leidsestraat and Vijzelstraat. Until 1663 the Herengracht reached as far as the present Leidsegracht. From that year o ...

at 475

Herengracht The Herengracht () is the second of four Amsterdam canals belonging to the canal belt and lies between the Singel and the Keizersgracht. The Gouden Bocht (Golden Bend) in particular is known for its large and beautiful canal houses. History Th ...

which had been redecorated in the popular Louis XV style by

Daniel Marot Daniel Marot or Daniel Marot the Elder (1661–1752) was a French-born Dutch architect, furniture designer and engraver at the forefront of the classicizing Late Baroque Louis XIV style. He worked for a long time in England and the Dutch Republic ...

for the former owner, the wealthy widow Petronella van Lennep-de Neufville. She had the

Jacob de Wit Jacob de Wit (19 December 1695 – 12 November 1754) was a Dutch artist and interior decorator who painted many religious scenes. Biography Jacob de Wit was born in Amsterdam, and became famous for his door and ceiling paintings. He lived on ...

ceiling installed that can be seen in Gildemeester's art gallery painting, and she commissioned a wall decoration scheme for the parlour by

Isaac de Moucheron Isaac de Moucheron (1667, Amsterdam, Dutch Republic – 1744, Amsterdam, Dutch Republic), was an 18th-century painter and interior decorator (wall painter) from the Northern Netherlands. Biography According to Houbraken when he returned fro ...

and sculpted stucco decorations in the hallway and main staircase by Jan van Logteren. The mansion was a stately home in which Gildemeester could exhibit his art collection. File:Interieur trappenhuis, overzicht stucwerk balustrade met stucbeelden van muzikanten - Amsterdam - 20352462 - RCE.jpg, Stucco musicians overlook the staircase by Jan van Logteren File:Interieur hal, overzicht beelden van Venus en Adonis - Amsterdam - 20352444 - RCE.jpg, Venus and Adonis in the hallway by Jan van Logteren File:Interieur kamer, overzicht schoorsteenboezem - Amsterdam - 20352777 - RCE.jpg, Fireplace in the parlour, flanked by Moucheron wall paintings

Art gallery

In 1794-95

Adriaan de Lelie Adriaan de Lelie (19 May 1755 – 30 November 1820)Lelie, Adriaan de
in the

painted Gildemeester amid his collection, flanked by Jurriaan Andriessen and the sailor Cornelis Rudolphus Theodorus Krayenhoff, with de Lelie himself in the background. By his death in 1799 Gildemeester had built up a collection of over 300 paintings, including works by

Jacob van Ruisdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural ach ...

Meindert Hobbema Meindert Lubbertszoon Hobbema (bapt. 31 October 1638 – 7 December 1709) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of landscapes, specializing in views of woodland, although his most famous painting, '' The Avenue at Middelharnis'' (1689, National Galle ...

, Pieter de Hoogh,

Gabriel Metsu In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

Gerard ter Borch Gerard ter Borch (; December 1617 – 8 December 1681), also known as Gerard Terburg (), was a Dutch genre painter who lived in the Dutch Golden Age. He influenced fellow Dutch painters Gabriel Metsu, Gerrit Dou, Eglon van der Neer and Johann ...

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...

and the French painter

Jean-Baptiste Pillement Jean-Baptiste Pillement (Lyon, 24 May 1728 – Lyon, 26 April 1808) was a French painter and designer, known for his exquisite and delicate landscapes, but whose importance lies primarily in the engravings done after his drawings, and their infl ...

. He also owned an extensive collection of drawings and prints. His works included Rembrandt's ''The ship builder Rijksen and his wife'' (now in the Royal CollectionCatalogue entry
/ref>), ''Portrait of a Clergyman'' (1637) and ''The Healing of Old Tobias'' (1636). When his collection was auctioned in 1800, it raised 167,000 guilders, with the highest individual price being for

Paulus Potter Paulus Potter (; 20 November 1625 (baptised) – 17 January 1654 (buried)) was a Dutch painter who specialized in animals within landscapes, usually with a low vantage point. Before Potter died of tuberculosis at the age of 28 he succeeded in ...

's ''The Milkmaid'' - cow painters like Potter and hare painters like Weenix were very popular at the end of the 18th century and the dawn of Romanticism. Several important paintings from the collection, such as Jan Asselijn's ''

The Threatened Swan ''The Threatened Swan'' ( nl, De bedreigde zwaan)The Threatened Swan, Jan As ...

'', ended up the Netherlands' national art gallery, which opened to the public in

Huis ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch ( nl, Paleis Huis ten Bosch, ; English: "House in the Woods") is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and ...

but is now housed in the Rijksmuseum. Gildemeester was buried in the Lutheran church. His only heir was his niece Mary, who died in 1817. File:Jan Asselijn - The Threatened Swan.jpg, ''

The Threatened Swan ''The Threatened Swan'' ( nl, De bedreigde zwaan)The Threatened Swan, Jan As ...

'' by Jan Asselijn, Rijksmuseum File:Gerard ter Borch - The Letter - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Letter'', by Gerard ter Borch, Royal Collection File:Hooch, Pieter de - A Woman Preparing Bread and Butter for a Boy - Google Art Project.jpg, ''

A Woman Preparing Bread and Butter for a Boy ''A Woman Preparing Bread and Butter for a Boy'' (1660–1663) is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch. It is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is part of the collection of the Getty Center. This painting was ...

'', by Pieter de Hooch, Getty Center File:Jacob van Ruisdael - Landscape with a Windmill Near a Town Moat.jpg, '' Landscape with a Windmill near a Town Moat'', by Jacob van Ruisdael, private collection File:Jacob Isaacksz. van Ruisdael - An Extensive Landscape with a Ruined Castle and a Village Church - WGA20493.jpg, '' A Landscape with a Ruined Castle and a Church'', by Jacob van Ruisdael, National Gallery File:Cavalier soldier Hals-1624x.jpg, '' Laughing Cavalier'', by Frans Hals, Wallace Collection File:Johannes Vermeer - The Astronomer - 1668.jpg, '' The Astronomer'', by

Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

, Louvre

References

Sources

*Fuchs, J.M. (1967) Verzorgen en verplegen. Luthers diaconiehuis Amsterdam 1772 - 1967 *Lunsingh Scheurleer, Th.H. (1967) Het huis Herengracht 475 en zijn bewoners. Amstelodamum Jaarboek 1967, p. 78-105. *C.J. de Bruyn Kops
'De Amsterdamse verzamelaar Jan Gildemeester Jzn.'
Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 13 (1965), p. 79-114

External links

Rijksmuseum article on the collection of Jan Gildemeester Jansz.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gildemeester, Jan 1799 deaths 1745 births Art collectors from Amsterdam Portuguese emigrants to the Netherlands 18th-century art collectors