Lieven de Key (1560 – 17 July 1627) was a Flemish

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

architect who after working in his native Flanders moved to work in the

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. He is mostly known today for his works in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

. His style is described by

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Mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

Biography

Koningstraat bij Grote Markt - deel Vergulde Druif

De Key was born in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, and was already a well-known architect when the Haarlem council invited him to become city architect in 1592 to succeed Wouter den Abt. He brought to Haarlem the same Renaissance style that Hendrick de Keyser brought to Amsterdam. Everything attributed to him or his followers, whether a building, a doorway, or merely a gable stone, is considered a rijksmonument today. The reason so many buildings in Haarlem can be attributed to him is because Haarlem had suffered a severe fire in 1576 that destroyed a third of the city, and plans were underway for large city projects when he was appointed city architect. Before working in Haarlem and Leiden, De Key had worked in London from 1580–1591.Lieven de Key
in the

RKD The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...

He died in Haarlem, aged about 77. In more recent times, many street names, buildings and e.g. one of the largest housing companies in Amsterdam, have been named after him.

Buildings designed

* Front facade of the city hall of LeidenSee the Rijksmonument report for this building * The Vleeshal in Haarlem, 1602–1603 * The gymnasium in Leiden * The tower of the St. Anna church in Haarlem, which still exists, though the rest of the church was demolished and rebuilt by Jacob van Campen * The

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in Haarlem, 1595 * North wing of the city hall of Haarlem, 1620 * The stone entranceway to the Proveniershuis in Haarlem, 1592 * The facade of the main hall of the

Frans Hals Museum The Frans Hals Museum (formerly ''Stedelijk Museum van Haarlem'') is a museum in the North Holland city of Haarlem, the Netherlands, founded in 1862, known as the Art Museum of Haarlem. Its collection is based on the city's own rich collection, b ...

, 1604–1609 * The gateway of the St. Barbara Gasthuis, 1624

References

Sources

* Deugd boven geweld, Een geschiedenis van Haarlem, 1245–1995, edited by Gineke van der Ree-Scholtens, 1995,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Lieven De 1560 births 1627 deaths Flemish architects Dutch Golden Age architects Dutch Baroque architects Architects from Ghent Artists from Haarlem 17th-century Dutch architects 16th-century Dutch architects