Jan van Walré (1759, Haarlem – 1837, Haarlem), was a 19th-century bookseller, poet, and playwright from the Northern Netherlands.

Biography

He was a Remonstrant married to a Mennonite and a bookseller who became a member of

Teylers Eerste Genootschap Teylers Eerste Genootschap (English: ''Teyler's First Society''), also known as the Godgeleerd Genootschap (''Theological Society'') is one of the societies founded within the Teylers Stichting as a result of the will of the Dutch 18th-century m ...

from 1781–1782. He received a large inheritance in 1782, leading him to cease his business activities and pursue his hobbies.De verborgen wereld van Democriet: Een kolderiek en dichtlievend genootschap te Haarlem 1789-1869, by Bert Sliggers, 1995, Schuyt & Co., In the same year, he joined a literature society started by

Adriaan Loosjes Adriaan Loosjes (1761, in Texel – 1818, in Haarlem), was a 19th-century botanist, poet, novelist and publisher born in Den Hoorn, North Holland, Netherlands. Biography He came from a family of Mennonite ministers and was an active member of th ...

, ''Vlijt moeder der Wetenschappen'', and became an actor. In 1785 the society was reinvented as the theater society ''Leerzaam vermaak'' with a strong Patriotic bias with Loosjes and Walré the leaders. In 1787 Walré joined the Haarlem ''vrijkorps'' (armed citizen's guard) named ''

Pro aris et focis ''Pro aris et focis'' ("for hearth and home") and ''Pro Deo et patria'' ("for God and country") are two Latin phrases used as the motto of many families, military regiments and educational institutions. ''Pro aris et focis'' literally translates " ...

'' as a captain and served in 1787 in Nieuwersluis. When this action failed and Haarlem returned to the orangists, ''Leerzaam vermaak'' was forbidden, but the group became active again in 1788. Loosjes began to avoid politics and in 1789 he started the Haarlem scientific society Maatschappij tot Nut van 't Algemeen. To continue his comedy pursuits, he began the society Democriet in the same year with the remark ''Because

Heraclitus Heraclitus of Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειτος , "Glory of Hera"; ) was an ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Persian Empire. Little is known of Heraclitus's life. He wrot ...

had to cry,

Democritus Democritus (; el, Δημόκριτος, ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. No ...

had to laugh''. In 1790, Walré joined, who again added political color, despite Loosjes' intentions to remain neutral. In 1795 when the French occupation began, the activities of Democriet reached their peak, and after that moment the society began to show similarities with freemasonry. According to the RKD he was the grandmaster of the Haarlem satirical literary society Democriet and an amateur draughtsman.Jan van Walré
in the

RKD The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

Portrait as a grandmaster of Democriet
in the RKD by Dirk Jurriaan Sluyter in 1807 File:Wybrand Hendriks - Jan van Walré as Henry IV - FHM01 OS-I-150 W.JPG, Jan van Walré as Henry IV File:Wybrand Hendriks - Maria Kops with daughter.jpg, His wife Maria Kops with their daughter Catharina Hillegonda, who later married Johannes Enschedé III.

References

Author page
in the DBNL
Books by Jan van Walré
on the

Google Books Library Project Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

Jan van Walré
on

Jacob Campo Weyerman Jacob Campo Weyerman (9 August 1677 – 9 March 1747) was a painter and writer during the period known as the Dutch Enlightenment. His work encompassed flower and fruit still life paintings, satirical magazines, plays, and biographies of painter ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Walre, Jan Van 1759 births 1837 deaths Dutch male poets Members of Teylers Eerste Genootschap Remonstrants Dutch male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century Dutch dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Dutch dramatists and playwrights