Geertje Dircx

Geertje Dircx (* around 1610 in Edam ; † 1656 ibid) was the temporary partner of the painter Rembrandt van Rijn .

Life

Geertje Dircx was born around 1610 in the North Dutch city of Edam in modest circumstances. Her father was a ship's carpenter. As a young woman, she first worked in an inn in the seafaring town of Hoorn . There she met the ship's trumpeter Abraham Claeszoon and married him. Like many seaman's wives, however, she soon became a widow. She then took up a job as a housekeeper in Hoorn. Around 1642 she moved to Rembrandt's household in Amsterdam.

He was a famous and wealthy artist at the time. His wife Saskia Uylenburgh had died in June 1642 and had left him with their young son Titus van Rijn . Geertje became his wet nurse. A love affair with Rembrandt soon developed. He gave or even lent her Saskia's jewelry. In 1648 Geertje designated the six-year-old Titus as her “only universal heir”. A little later, however, Rembrandt ended the relationship with her because he began a relationship with his maid Hendrickje Stoffels . She was about 16 years younger than Geertje.

Geertje then moved out and sued Rembrandt for promising her marriage and not keeping it. The painter tried to reach an out-of-court settlement. He promised her an annual maintenance payment of 160 guilders. But shortly before the planned contract signing, Geertje made a scene for him and yelled at him in the presence of the notary that this amount was not sufficient.

Now the matter has been decided by the "Huwelijkskrakeelkamer", the chamber for marriage quarrels. In a hearing on October 23, 1649, Geertje explained to the judges "that the summonser had slept with her several times". Therefore, she demands that he either marry her or provide for her support. The court sentenced Rembrandt to an annual maintenance payment of 200 guilders. In return, Geertje had to undertake not to disinherit Titus and later to bequeath all of the jewelry to him that she had received from Rembrandt.

Instead, however, she pledged some of the valuables. As a result, Rembrandt was so angry that he bribed her brother Pieter Dircx and together with him collected incriminating testimonies against Geertje. This led to her being sentenced in 1650 to the Gouda women's prison . Rembrandt paid for the cost of their arrest and transfer. He also financed her stay in the so-called spinning house .

In the prison, Geertje vegetated under appalling conditions. However, five years later, her friend Trijn Jacobs managed to obtain her release. The simple widow negotiated successfully with the Gouda city council. Rembrandt threatened her with the words that she would “still be sorry” and also tried to get the city council on his side, but Trijn Jacobs prevailed. Even though Geertje was sick, she began collecting testimonies to sue Rembrandt. The now heavily indebted artist also prepared for the process. Geertje saw Rembrandt file for bankruptcy, but shortly afterwards she died. Her biographer Christoph Driessen says: "The tenacity with which she fought the much more influential Rembrandt demands respect."

Rembrandt was apparently not artistically inspired by Geertje. No secured painting is known. She may have served as a model for Young Woman in Bed ( Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh ). It is also assumed that the representation of a woman in North Holland costume in the British Museum is Geertje.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Christoph Driessen: Rembrandt and the women , Regensburg 2011, p. 117

literature

• Christoph Driessen: Rembrandt and the women , Regensburg 2011, ISBN 3-791-72359-6 .