Roemer Pieterszoon Visscher (1547 – 19 February 1620) was a successful Dutch merchant, the first Dutch underwriter and writer of the

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 ...

Life

Visscher was born in and lived 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 ...

and was an important and central figure of the cultural scene there and member of the '' rederijkerskamer'' ''De Eglantier'' with as

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

''"In liefde bloeiende"'' ("Blossoming in love"). Other members of this scene were the Dutch writers P.C. Hooft, Bredero and Vondel. Vondel called Visschers house ''"het saligh Roemers huys"'' ("delightful house of Roemer"), because artists of all kinds visited his house on the Gelderse Kade in Amsterdam, varying from painters to poets. Roemer was the father of three daughters Maria Tesselschade Visscher, Gertruid, and Anna Visscher.Geoffrey Cotterell, "Amsterdam: The Life of a City". Little, Brown & Company 1972.

Works

The

humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

and moralistic content of his works belongs to the period of the

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 ...

, although the form was more conservative and characteristic to the '' rederijkers''. Visscher was a specialist in the

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia ...

, but he also wrote emblemata. The emblemata is a genre in which pictures are accompanied by one or two rhyming sentences. An example of the emblemata is Visschers Sinnepoppen. One emblema is called ''"Elck wat wils"'' which is still a common expression in Dutch, meaning "To each his own". Among his works are: *''T'loff vande mutse, ende van een blaewe scheen'' (1612) *''Brabbeling'' (1614) *''Sinnepoppen'' (1614)

References

External links

* Sinnepoppen digital versio
T'lof van rethorica
- digital version (from the work Brabbeling)
Information and picture of a page from SinnepoppenRoemer Visscher (1547-1620)
- Imaginary pictures of Roemer Visscher {{DEFAULTSORT:Visscher, Roemer Dutch male poets 1547 births 1620 deaths 17th-century Dutch poets Writers from Amsterdam Dutch Golden Age writers Burials at the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam Muiderkring