Ets van de gevelwand met voorgevels van de Hand Booghs Doelen, het Stads Magazyn en de Voet Booghs Doelen - Amsterdam - 20011137 - RCE

The Voetboogdoelen ("crossbowmen's shooting range") was a 16th-century building on the

Singel The Singel is one of the canals of Amsterdam. The Singel encircled Amsterdam in the Middle Ages, serving as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ (Amsterdam), IJ bay, near the ...

canal in

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 ...

, at the corner of

Heiligeweg The Heiligeweg (Dutch - Holy Street or Holy Way) is the street in Amsterdam that used to lead from the Kapel ter Heilige Stede (Chapel of the Holy Site, a pilgrimage chapel on the site where the 1345 Miracle of Amsterdam occurred) to the Kalver ...

near

Koningsplein Koningsplein ('King's Square') is a square in Amsterdam. It is located between the Singel and Herengracht canals. It has become a meeting place for the local community References External links TERENA Webcam Koningsplein, Amsterdam via TEREN ...

square, which served as headquarters and

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or shooting sport, competitions. So ...

of the local ''

schutterij Schutterij () refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces w ...

'' (civic guard).

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 ...

painted a group portrait for the Voetboogdoelen, known as the ''

Meagre Company The ''Meagre Company'', or ''The Company of Captain Reinier Reael and Lieutenant Cornelis Michielsz Blaeuw'', refers to the only militia group portrait, or ''schutterstuk'', painted by Frans Hals outside of Haarlem. Today the painting is in the ...

''. The spot where the Voetboogdoelen once stood is now occupied by the main building of the

Amsterdam University Library Amsterdam University Library is the library of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Academic Medical Centre (AMC). The central complex of the Library is in the town centre at Singel, close to Heiligeweg and Koningsplein. The Library's Spe ...

. The nearby street Voetboogstraat was named in reference to the Voetboogdoelen.

History

The Voetboogdoelen, also called ''Sint-Jorisdoelen '' after its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

, was one of three ''doelens'' (shooting ranges) for the Amsterdam ''schutterij'' (civic guard). The other two shooting ranges were the Handboogdoelen and Kloveniersdoelen, located along the

and

Kloveniersburgwal Kloveniersburgwal is an Amsterdam canal flowing south from Nieuwmarkt to the Amstel River on the edge of the medieval city, lying east of the dam in the centre of Amsterdam. History The Kloveniersburgwal was dug at the end of the 15th century. ...

canals respectively. The Voetboogdoelen civic guard was armed with

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fi ...

s, while the Handboogdoelen civic guard wielded

longbow A longbow (known as warbow in its time, in contrast to a hunting bow) is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. A longbow is not significantly recurved. Its limbs are relatively narrow and are circular or D-shaped in cross ...

s and the Kloveniersdoelen civic guard used an early type of

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

, the

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...

. The Voetboogdoelen was established in 1458 as the shooting range for the ''voetboogschutterij'' (crossbowmen's civic guard), and the associated building was completed in the early 16th century. The shooting range extended from the Singel canal to the back side of the houses on

Kalverstraat The Kalverstraat (, ) is a busy shopping street of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The street runs roughly North-South for about 750 meters, from Dam Square to Muntplein square. The Kalverstraat is the most expensive shopping stree ...

and Heiligeweg.H. de la Fontaine Verwey, "Herinneringen van een bibliothecaris'", ''De boekenwereld'', Jaargang 3. Uitgeverij Matrijs, Utrecht, 1986-1987
(Dutch, archived) Amsterdam's militia

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

s were formed in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

to defend the city against attack. Around 1580, at the behest of William of Orange, these Medieval guilds were incorporated into a new, much larger civic guard to defend the newly Protestant city against the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

during the

Dutch revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

which ultimately led to a full-blown war of independence, the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

. Officers of this new civic guard were recruited from the well-to-do of Amsterdam. In the mid-17th century, the Eighty Years' War ended and the civic guard no longer served a military purpose. The civic guard continued to exist, but membership became an honorary position and the ''doelens'' assumed a primarily social function. The wealthiest and most powerful citizens of

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, ...

Amsterdam came together in the ''doelens'' to eat, drink and smoke. In 1650 the city gave permission for houses to be built on the former shooting ranges of the Voet- and Handboogdoelen. For these houses, two new streets were constructed: the Voetboogstraat and Handboogstraat. Banquets were held in the Voetboogdoelen in 1653 and 1654 to celebrate the founding of the Amsterdam artists' guild, the

Guild of Saint Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was ide ...

. At the first of these feasts, on 20 October 1653,

Joost van den Vondel Joost van den Vondel (; 17 November 1587 – 5 February 1679) was a Dutch poet, writer and playwright. He is considered the most prominent Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century. His plays are the ones from that period that are still most ...

was crowned with a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...

to celebrate his career as a poet. From 1674, the Voetboogdoelen was rented out to the new

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

— founded after the original company went bankrupt — to serve as its headquarters. From then on, the building was known as the ''West-Indisch Binnenhuis'' (Inner West India House) or simply ''West-Indisch Huis'' (West India House). The building was also used by the

Society of Suriname The Society of Suriname (Dutch: ''Sociëteit van Suriname'') was a Dutch private company, modelled on the ideas of Jean-Baptiste Colbert and set up on 21 May 1683 to profit from the management and defense of the Dutch Republic's colony of Surinam ...

from its founding in 1683 until the company was nationalized in 1795. During the

French period In Northern European historiography, the term French period (french: Période française, german: Franzosenzeit, nl, Franse tijd) refers to the period between 1794 and 1815 during which most of Northern Europe was controlled by Republican or Napo ...

, the Voetboogdoelen served as

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

. In 1816 the building was demolished to make way for the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

St. Catherine's Church, consecrated in 1820. In 1939, the church was itself demolished. This left the grounds unoccupied until the 1960s, when the main building of the

was built on the spot. The building, designed by architect Jan Leupen and others, has been named in the media as one of the ugliest of Amsterdam.

Painting

Members of the civic guard, drawn from the well-to-do of Amsterdam, frequently commissioned group portraits of themselves, which were hung in the ''doelens''. The earliest known example of these so-called ''schuttersstukken'' is a 1529

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

Dirck Jacobsz. Dirck Jacobsz. (1496–1567) was a Dutch people, Dutch Renaissance Painting, painter. His exact birthplace is unknown, but it was somewhere near Amsterdam. Career Born into a family of painters, he was first trained by his father, Jacob Corne ...

for the Kloveniersdoelen, now in the

Amsterdam Museum The Amsterdam Museum, known until 2010 as the Amsterdam Historical Museum, is an Amsterdam-based museum dedicated to the city's past and present. Due to the renovation of its main location, the museum is temporarily located in the building the Amst ...

. Group portraits for the Voetboogdoelen were commissioned from as early as the 1530s.

was commissioned in 1633 to paint a group portrait for the Voetboogdoelen, '' The Meagre Company''. However, Hals took years to complete it and, when the painting was still unfinished in 1636,

Pieter Codde Pieter Jacobsz Codde (December 11, 1599 – October 12, 1678) was a Dutch painter of genre works, guardroom scenes and portraits. Life Codde was a technically skilled painter. He is said to have studied with Frans Hals, but it is more likely ...

was contracted to complete it. Now on display in the Rijksmuseum, ''The Meagre Company'' is one of Hals' best-known works and was an important inspiration for

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

. Two group portraits were commissioned for the ''Oude Sael'' (Old Hall) of the Voetboogdoelen to commemorate the end of the

with the

Peace of Münster The Peace of Münster was a treaty between the Lords States General of the Seven United Netherlands and the Spanish Crown, the terms of which were agreed on 30 January 1648. The treaty, parallelly negotiated to but not part of the Peace of We ...

in 1648. The best-known of these two paintings is the '' Banquet at the Crossbowmen’s Guild in Celebration of the Treaty of Münster'' by

Bartholomeus van der Helst Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613 – buried 16 December 1670) was a Dutch painter. Considered to be one of the leading portrait painters of the Dutch Golden Age, his elegant portraits gained him the patronage of Amsterdam's elite as well as t ...

. This painting is now in the Rijksmuseum. The painting was probably trimmed; on copies (such as a 1779 print by

Jacob Cats Jacob Cats (10 November 1577 – 12 September 1660) was a Dutch poet, humorist, jurist and politician. He is most famous for his emblem books. Early years Jacob Cats was born on 10 November 1577 in Brouwershaven as son of Adriaen Cornelis ...

), the back wall and window are much higher, and some of the ceiling is even visible. In the painting, some of the buildings on the opposite side of the

canal can be seen through the window, including a building at Singel 460 designed and built by

Philip Vingboons Philips Vingboons (or ''Vinckboons'', ''Vinckeboons'', ''Vinckbooms'') ( – 2 October 1678) was a Dutch architect. He was part of the school of Jacob van Campen, that is, Dutch Classicism. Vingboons was especially highly regarded in his native c ...

(nowadays the Odeon club and restaurant). The second group portrait commissioned for the Old Hall of the Voetboogdoelen was ''The company of Captain Joan Huydecoper'' by

Govert Flinck Govert (or Govaert) Teuniszoon Flinck (25 January 16152 February 1660) was a Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Life Born at Kleve, capital of the Duchy of Cleves, which was occupied at the time by the United Provinces, he was apprenticed by ...

. The painting is now in the Amsterdam Museum. From about 1683, the group portraits were removed from the ''doelens'', beginning with those in the former Voetboogdoelen. Most were hung in Amsterdam's city hall on

Dam Square Dam Square or the Dam () is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the best-known and most important locations in the city and the country. Location and description ...

(now the

Royal Palace of Amsterdam The Royal Palace of Amsterdam in Amsterdam (Dutch: ''Koninklijk Paleis van Amsterdam'' or ) is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which are at the disposal of the monarch by Act of Parliament. It is situated on the west side of Dam Square i ...

), others sold at auction. Many of these paintings, 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 ''

The Night Watch ''Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq'', also known as ''The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'', but commonly referred to as ''The Night Watch'' ( nl, De Nachtwacht), i ...

'' (which hung in the Kloveniersdoelen), were significantly trimmed to fit their new home. The full-size versions are known only through copies made of the original paintings, such as the watercolor copies contained in the Egerton Manuscript, which is now in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Cornelis Ketel Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given na ...

's 1588 group painting of a company of the Voetboogdoelen civic guard, ''The Company of Captain Dirck Jacobsz Rosecrans and Lieutenant Pauw'' (now in the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...

) was cropped on all sides, with as much as 1.27 meters thought to have been cut off on the right-hand side.Maaike Dirkx, “In all their glory”: Amsterdam civic guards portraits – (2) Jan van Dyk and the paintings in the Town Hall", Rembrandt's Room, August 13, 2014
(archived) Anthonisz, Cornelis - Banquet of Members of Amsterdam's Crossbow Civic Guard - 1533.jpg, Cornelis Anthonisz. (1533), ''Banquet of Members of Amsterdam's Crossbow Civic Guard'' Het korporaalschap van kapitein Dirck Jacobsz Rosecrans en luitenant Pauw Rijksmuseum SK-C-378.jpeg,

(1588), ''The Company of Captain Dirck Jacobsz Rosecrans and Lieutenant Pauw'' SA 7361-Schutters van het vendel van kapitein Abraham Boom en luitenant Oetgens van Waveren-Kapitein Abraham Boom en luitenant Antonie Oetgens van Waveren met zeven schutters van het vendel dat in 1622 naar Zwolle trok.jpg, Nicolaes Lastman and

Adriaen van Nieulandt Adriaen van Nieulandt (1587, Antwerp- buried July 7, 1658, Amsterdam) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman and engraver of the Baroque period. Biography His father (Adriaen van Nieulandt the elder) was born to a family of artists of Flemish origin ...

(1623), ''Civic guardsmen from the squad of captain Abraham Boom and lieutenant Antonie Oetgens van Waveren'' SA 7313-Maaltijd van schutters van de compagnie van kapitein Jacob Backer en luitenant Jacob Rogh.jpg,

Nicolaes Pickenoy Nicolaes Eliaszoon Pickenoy (10 January 1588 – 1653/1656) was a Dutch painter of Flemish origin. Pickenoy was possibly a pupil of Cornelis van der Voort and presumably Bartholomeus van der Helst was his own pupil. Life He was the son ...

(1632), ''Banquet of civic guardsmen from the company of captain Jacob Backer and lieutenant Jacob Rogh'' Frans Hals, De magere compagnie.jpg,

and

(1637), ''Militia Company of District XI under the Command of Captain Reynier Reael'', better known as '' The Meagre Company'' Helst, Peace of Münster.jpg,

(c. 1649): '' Banquet at the Crossbowmen’s Guild in Celebration of the Treaty of Münster'' SA 7330-De overlieden van de Voetboogdoelen-De vier overlieden van het Sint Jorisgilde.jpg,

(1656): ''The headmen of the Crossbow Civic Guard House''

Related buildings

The Voetboogdoelen was one of three ''doelens'' (shooting ranges) for the Amsterdam civic guard, alongside the Handboogdoelen and Kloveniersdoelen, which were located along

and

canal respectively. Of the three, only the Handboogdoelen survives. Other Dutch towns, including

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

and

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

, also had a Voetboogdoelen or Sint-Jorisdoelen. The original headquarters of the Dutch West India Company was the West-Indisch Huis (West India House, 1617), also in Amsterdam. The West-Indisch Pakhuis (West India Warehouse, 1642) in Amsterdam served as headquarters from 1647 until the Voetboogdoelen took over this function in 1674.

References

{{coord, 52, 22, 4, N, 4, 53, 22, E, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Amsterdam Demolished buildings and structures in the Netherlands 16th century in Amsterdam 17th century in Amsterdam Shooting ranges in the Netherlands Buildings and structures completed in the 16th century Militia group portraits Buildings and structures demolished in 1939