Pieter Claesz. van Ruijven (1624 – August 7, 1674) is best known as

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 ...

's patron for the better part of the artist's career. Van Ruijven was born in

Delft Delft () is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, and The Hague, to the northwest. Together with them, it is part of both the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolita ...

, the son of a brewer and a Remonstrant. In 1653 he married Maria de Knuijt. The couple had one daughter named Magdalena, born in 1655. Like his father, he worked for the city institution, the ''Camer van Charitate'' (1668–1672). In 1657, he lent Vermeer 200 guilders. In 1680 his daughter Magdalena van Ruijven married Jacob Abrahamsz Dissius, a bookbinder. His father owned a printing press on the Market square, close to

Maria Thins Maria Thins (c. 1593 – 27 December 1680) was the mother-in-law of Johannes Vermeer and a member of the Gouda Thins family. Life Maria was born in Gouda. In 1622 she married Reynier Bolnes, a prominent and prosperous brickmaker. In 1635 the ma ...

. Van Ruijven died in Delft, aged about fifty. Magdalena had 20 of Vermeer's works in her estate at her death, inherited from her father. Magdalena van Ruijven died in 1682, one year after her mother. Her spouse inherited most of her wealth, including 20 paintings by Vermeer. In 1683, the estate was divided by Dissius and his father. In 1694 Abraham Dissius was buried, his son Jacob died the year after. On May 16, 1696, twenty-one paintings by Vermeer were sold in an auction in Amsterdam. These paintings brought a total of 1,503 guilders, about seventy guilders each. It is presumed the paintings had belonged to the Van Ruijvens, who had built up a large collection of paintings by Vermeer, three by

Emanuel de Witte Emanuel de Witte (1617–1692) was a Dutch perspective painter. In contrast to Pieter Jansz Saenredam, who emphasized architectural accuracy, De Witte was more concerned with the atmosphere of his interiors. Though few in number, de Witte al ...

, four by Simon de Vlieger and one by

Jan Porcellis Jan Porcellis (1580/84 Ghent – 29 January 1632 Zoeterwoude) was a Dutch marine artist in the seventeenth century. His works initiated a "decisive transition from early realism to the tonal phase", fostering a new style and subject in mar ...

. He is depicted as a predatory lecher in

Tracy Chevalier Tracy Rose Chevalier (born 19 October 1962) is an American-British novelist. She is best known for her second novel, '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'', which was adapted as a 2003 film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. Personal backgr ...

's historical novel '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'' (1999), although there is absolutely no evidence of this.”Pieter van Ruijven”
Essential Vermeer
/ref> The 2003

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

of the book also follows this characterization, with Tom Wilkinson playing him.

References

External links

''Vermeer and The Delft School''
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Pieter van Ruijven * http://www.bergerfoundation.ch/ * http://www.essentialvermeer.com/clients_patrons/dissius_auction.html

References

External links

See also