Museum Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis was situated from its opening 1991 till the end of 2015 in a canal-side mansion, the Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. This patrician mansion, close to the

Rembrandtplein Rembrandtplein (English: Rembrandt Square) is a major square in central Amsterdam, Netherlands, named after Rembrandt van Rijn who owned a house nearby from 1639 to 1656. History The square has its origins in the defensive walls constructed in t ...

, was built for Albert Geelvinck (1647-1693) and Sara Hinlopen (1660-1749), then in an attractive and new laid-out section of the city towards the

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam, to which the rive ...

. In the year 1687 the couple moved into this double wide house, with storage rooms in the cellar, under the attic and in the warehouse on

Keizersgracht The Keizersgracht (; "Emperor's canal") is a canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is the second of the three main Amsterdam canals that together form the Grachtengordel, or canal belt, and lies between the inner Herengracht and outer Prinseng ...

633, now the entrance. The canal mansion 'Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis' is now closed for the public, because the museum (including the rosarium) has moved to new premises. In Spring 2017 the museum opened its new premises in the historic mansion 'De Wildeman' in Zutphen, but had to close down already by the end of 2019. Today, Museum Geelvinck is located at the country estate 'Kolthoorn House' in Heerde and also has a modest venue at the 'Posthoornkerk' in Amsterdam.

History

Albert Geelvinck came from the upper class

Geelvinck Geelvinck (" yellow finch") was a Dutch surname. The family died out in the early 19th century. Some notable members of the family include: * Jan Cornelis Geelvinck, the son of a merchant in beans and peas, and involved in the West India Company. ...

family, who had acquired their wealth through merchant shipping to Spain, Africa,

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

and the West Indies. Sara Hinlopen came from a family of originally Flemish cloth merchants, private investors and in an early stage involved in the governing the city and the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

. Both families belonged to the

regents In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of Amsterdam. The republican

s delivered five

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

s (mayors) in the 17th and 18th century. They too served in the

Admiralty of Amsterdam The Admiralty of Amsterdam was the largest of the five Dutch admiralties at the time of the Dutch Republic. The administration of the various admiralties was strongly influenced by provincial interests. The territory for which Amsterdam ...

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...

or the

Society of Surinam 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 Surina ...

. Sara became an orphan at the age of six. Then she and her sister Johanna were raised by a stepmother

Lucia Wijbrants Lucia Wijbrants or Wybrants (October 21, 1638 in Amsterdam – May 23, 1719 in Utrecht) was the daughter of Johannes Wijbrants, a silk merchant, whose ancestors had moved from Stavoren to Antwerp. After 1585 when Antwerp was occupied by the Spanish ...

. Because the cooperation did not work out well, they moved in with

Jacob J. Hinlopen Jacob J. Hinlopen (1582 – 1629 in Amsterdam) lived in a house ''with Hinlopen in the gable'', now at 155 Nieuwendijk, Amsterdam, Nieuwendijk. He traded in cloth and Indian wares. In 1602 he was co-founder of the Dutch East India Company in ...

, their uncle, in 1672. Keen on leaving the house, she married in 1680 the fifteen-year-older lawyer Albert Geelvinck. A few months before the girls came by lot in the possession of the paintings by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

, and

Gabriel Metsu In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

, collected by their father

Jan J. Hinlopen Jan Jacobszoon Hinlopen (10 May 1626 – 4 September 1666) was a rich Dutch cloth merchant, an officer in the civic guard, a real estate developer in the Jordaan, alderman in the city council and a keen art collector. He would have been elect ...

. In 1695, she married Jacob Bicker, Hendricksz (1642-1713), eighteen-years older, without community of property and separated from bed. In 1749 she died at the age of almost 89, but blind. The house, her stocks and bonds, her paintings and her books, including the cash money (ƒ 2,50), was divided into lots and went to

Nicolaes Geelvinck Nicolaes Geelvinck (11 October 1706, in Amsterdam – 15 June 1764, in Amsterdam) was lord of Castricum, Bakkum, Santpoort, Velsen, Stabroek, schepen, and owner of the country estate Akerendam-by- Beverwijk. He was appointed as mayor of Amst ...

and his three sisters.

Garden and rooms at the Geelvinck Hinlopen House

Between the entrance and the mansion is a spacious and quiet garden. The back of the garden is a

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 ...

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

, while the front is a formal and symmetrical

French garden The French formal garden, also called the , is a style of "landscape" garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century ...

with a large pond and a fountain. Most of the time there is an exhibition of statues. Going up the stairs to the main floor of the museum, there are four rooms open to the public. ''The Blue room'' in a

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

or neo-classical style has an ensemble of five

wallpaper Wallpaper is used in interior decoration to cover the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" to help cover uneve ...

panels, painted around 1788 by

Egbert van Drielst Egbert van Drielst (Groningen (city), Groningen, 12 March 1745 – Amsterdam, 4 June 1818) began his study of the painting in a factory in Groningen (city), Groningen which produced mainly lacquered objects. He soon went to Haarlem, where h ...

. Van Drielst was a romantic painter, who in his style was influenced by

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 Galler ...

and

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 achie ...

. On all the panels nature is idealized, the horizon is on eyeheight. Originally the panels were designed for a house on the

, then decorating a room in New York and Miami, but since 1990 they are back. On the chimney are two

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

jars from the factory of

Joannes de Mol Joannes de Mol (September 15, 1726 – November 22, 1782) was a Dutch minister (Christianity), minister, Patriots (Dutch Republic), Patriot and porcelain manufacturer in the second half of the 18th century. De Mol - like many of his contemporar ...

. ''The Red Room'' is decorated in either a

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

or a neo-

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

style. The high ceiling and the fixed mirrors are impressive. There are six 17th-century paintings in this room: a Flamish fantasy landscape with tree, game and birds by

Gillis d'Hondecoeter Gillis Claesz. de Hondecoeter or d'Hondecoeter (c. 1575–1580 – buried 17 October 1638) was a Dutch Painting, painter, working in a Flemish painting, Flemish style, painting landscapes, trees, fowl and birds. Later on d'Hondecoeter pai ...

; also depicting

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

healing the blind. Further there is still life with flowers but without a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Daniel Seghers Daniel Seghers (3December 15902November 1661) was a Flemish Jesuit brother and Flemish Baroque painter, painter who specialized in flower still lifes. He is particularly well known for his contributions to the genre of flower garland painting.I ...

, a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

from Antwerp, a flashy

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

by Pieter de Ring, a

seascape A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from landscape, which was first used for images of land in art. By a similar de ...

Hans Goderis Hans Goderis (1595/1600, Haarlem – 1656/1659, Haarlem) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography Goderis was the son of Joris Goderis and Marijntgen Lijbaerts. He is first mentioned along with Cornelis Verbeeck in the book ''Harlemias'' by ...

and a winterscape by Antonie van Stralen. On the table is an interesting piece of

Kraak porcelain Kraak ware or Kraak porcelain (Dutch ''Kraakporselein'') is a type of Chinese export porcelain produced mainly in the late Ming dynasty, in the Wanli Emperor, Wanli reign (1573–1620), but also in the Tianqi Emperor, Tianqi (1620–1627) and th ...

. The ceiling in the library is in a neo-classical style, resembling the work of the Scottish architect and interior decorator

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

. Adam, was inspired by the

Domus Aurea The Domus Aurea (Latin, "Golden House") was a vast landscaped complex built by the Roman Empire, Emperor Nero largely on the Oppian Hill in the heart of ancient Rome after the Great Fire of Rome, great fire in 64 AD had destroyed a large part ...

in Rome and the palace of

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

. In the hall one can see a

tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

, made in Brussels around 1600, depicting

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia ( ; 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Media ...

and the rich

Croesus Croesus ( ; ; Latin: ; reigned: ) was the Monarch, king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his Siege of Sardis (547 BC), defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. According to Herodotus, he reigned 14 years. Croesus was ...

, after his defeat and the revolt of the citizens. The story comes from

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, (book I: 155). The ''

carton A carton is a box or container usually made of liquid packaging board, paperboard and sometimes of corrugated fiberboard. Many types of cartons are used in packaging. Sometimes a carton is also called a box. Types of cartons Folding cartons ...

'' was designed by

Michiel Coxcie Michiel Coxie the Elder, Michiel Coxcie the Elder or Michiel van Coxcie, Latinised name ''Coxius''Michiel Coxie (I) ...

, the ''Flemish Raphael'', and the original belongs to the Spanish royal family. ''The Chinese Room'' has eight Rococo wallpaper panels on

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...

with fantasy flowers and birds, vegetables and

chinoiserie (, ; loanword from French '' chinoiserie'', from '' chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other Sinosphere artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, lite ...

, made somewhere between the years 1765–1775. The artist, working in the cuir de Cordoue manufacture of in Brussels, perhaps used

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

s by

Jean-Baptiste Pillement Jean-Baptiste Pillement (24 May 1728 – 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 influence in spr ...

, then famous for his

Chinoiserie (, ; loanword from French '' chinoiserie'', from '' chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other Sinosphere artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, lite ...

. The table is in

scagliola Scagliola (from the Italian language, Italian ''scaglia'', meaning "chips") is a type of fine plaster used in architecture and sculpture. The same term identifies the technique for producing columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements t ...

technique, and once belonged to

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

. * In June the museum used to participate in the ''Open Garden Days''. * The museum programs concerts, sometimes on historic fortepianos, such as the Broadwood

square piano The square piano is a type of piano that has horizontal strings arranged diagonally across the rectangular case above the hammers and with the keyboard set in the long side, with the sounding board above a cavity in the short side. It is variousl ...

; this program continues now in other historic houses and castles, such as the Posthoornkerk and Castle Heeswijk (near Den Bosch), where the museum has located some of its historic pianos. * The first exhibitions in the museum was in 1991 on

Antoine Ignace Melling Antoine Ignace Melling (27 April 1763 – November 1831) was a painter, architect and voyager who is counted among the “Levantine Artists”. He is famous for his vedute of Constantinople, a town where he lived for 18 years. He was imperial arch ...

.Boschma, C. & J. Perot (1991) Antoine-Ignace Melling (1763-1831) reizend kunstenaar. By the end of 2015, Museum Geelvinck had to move to new premises. Since Spring 2017, the Geelvinck Muziek Museum opened for the public at the historic house 'De Wildeman' in Zutphen (till end of 2016 this was the Museum Henriëtte Polak, which had moved to the 'Hof van Heeckeren'). Museum Geelvinck was forced out of its Zutphen venue already by the end of 2019 and since moved to the country estate 'Kolthoorn House' in

Heerde Heerde () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Gelderland, in the eastern Netherlands. Compared to the rest of the Netherlands, Heerde is fairly religious, as are many of t ...

. Since 2012, Museum Geelvinck also has a modest venue in the 'Posthoornkerk' in Amsterdam (the collection of historic pianos is on view by appointment only). Museum Geelvinck collaborates in the partnership 'Geelvinck Muziek Musea with the Pianola Museum and Huis Midwoud (

Midwoud Midwoud is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Medemblik, and lies about 7 km north of Hoorn. History The village was first mentioned around 1312 as Midwoude, and means "middle forest". Midd ...

). Museum Geelvinck continued its weekly Geelvinck Salon concert series first in the Museum Cromhouthuis in de

Cromhouthuizen Cromhouthuizen (English: Cromhout Houses) consists of four consecutive canal houses on Herengracht in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The houses are located between Huidenstraat and the canal Herengracht, with house numbers 362–364, 366, 368, and 370. T ...

and, since the closure of this venue, starting in Autumn 2018 in the Luther Museum Amsterdam.

References

External links

Geelvinck-Hinlopen Huis
(official website)
Bureau Monumentenzorg on Herengracht 518Temporary exhibition on Art from China, Mongolia and the Himalaya
{{Authority control Historic house museums in the Netherlands Museums in Amsterdam Rijksmonuments in Amsterdam 1991 establishments in the Netherlands 20th-century architecture in the Netherlands

History

Garden and rooms at the Geelvinck Hinlopen House

See also

References

External links