Pieter de Keyser (c.1595 – 15 September 1676 (buried)) was a

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...

architect (''bouwmeester'') and sculptor. He followed in the footsteps of his father

Hendrick de Keyser Hendrick de Keyser (15 May 1565 – 15 May 1621) was a Dutch sculptor, merchant in Belgium bluestone, and architect who was instrumental in establishing a late Renaissance form of Mannerism changing into Baroque. Most of his works appeared in Ams ...

and completed a number of Hendrick de Keyser's buildings after his death in 1621.

Life and work

Pieter de Keyser was born and died 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 ...

. He was commissioned by his father to oversee the construction of the Huis Bartolotti house on the

Herengracht The Herengracht () is the second of four Amsterdam canals belonging to the canal belt and lies between the Singel and the Keizersgracht. The Gouden Bocht (Golden Bend) in particular is known for its large and beautiful canal houses. History Th ...

canal in Amsterdam in c. 1617. After his father's death in 1621, he succeeded him as Amsterdam's master mason (''stadssteenhouwer'') and oversaw the completion of the

Westerkerk The Westerkerk (; ) is a Calvinism, Reformed church within Protestant Church in the Netherlands, Dutch Protestant Calvinism in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. It lies in the most western part of the Grachtengordel (Amsterdam), Grachtengordel nei ...

and

Noorderkerk The Noorderkerk (Dutch language, Dutch for "northern church") is a 17th-century Protestant church in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The Noorderkerk is located along Prinsengracht canal, on Noordermarkt square. The church is used for Dutch Reformed Ch ...

churches, as well as the Huis met de Hoofden house 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 ...

canal. In addition, he finished two other uncompleted projects of his father's: a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

for

William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft as well as a statue of

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

in Rotterdam. De Keyser also designed and oversaw the construction of the Saaihal (1641) in Amsterdam, as well as the gallery and boys' school of the city's Civil Orphanage (''Burgerweeshuis''), now 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 Amstelhof on the ...

. The Accijnshuis (1637) building in Amsterdam is usually attributed to

Jacob van Campen Jacob van Campen (2 February 1596 — 13 September 1657) was a Dutch artist and architect of the Golden Age. Life He was born into a wealthy family at Haarlem and spent his youth in his hometown. Being of noble birth and with time on his han ...

but could also have been designed by Pieter de Keyser. His work in sculpture includes a mausoleum for the naval commander Piet Hein in the Oude Kerk in Delft, a mausoleum for stadholder William Louis of Nassau-Dillenburg in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

, a mausoleum for Adriaan Pauw in the Reformed Church at

Heemstede Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. In 2021, it had a population of 27,545. Located just south of the city of Haarlem on the border with South Holland, it is one of the richest ...

, and a mausoleum for Swedish military commander Erik Soop in the cathedral of

Skara Skara is a locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18,580 inhabitants in 2013. Despite its small size, it is one of the oldest cities in Sweden, and has a long educational and ecclesiastical history. O ...

, Sweden. Pieter de Keyser was married three times: to Magdalena Geens (1623), Magdalena Jacobs (1625), and Catharina Beghin or Bagijn (1639). His brother Willem de Keyser also became an architect; Thomas de Keyser chose to become a painter, although he combined it with dealing in

petit Granit Petit Granit (also known by a variety of names including: Nero Belga, Granit de Flandre, Pierre Bleue, Blue Stone, Belgian Granite, Belgian Blue Limestone, Arduin) is, despite its name, a grey-bluish limestone, rather than being a true Granite. It ...

Brouwersgracht The Brouwersgracht is a canal in Amsterdam that connects the Singel with the Singelgracht. The canal marks the northwestern border of the Grachtengordel (canal belt). Between the Prinsengracht and the Singelgracht the Brouwersgracht forms the ...

. Pieter dealt in marble and in 1654 he bought his brother's stone business.

Sources

Amsterdam Monumenten: Hendrik de Keyser
(Dutch)

(Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Keyser, Pieter De Dutch Golden Age architects Dutch Golden Age sculptors 1590s births 1676 deaths Dutch male sculptors Architects from Amsterdam