Hendrick de Keyser

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Zuiderkerk in Amsterdam
Westerkerk in Amsterdam
Munttoren in Amsterdam
Delft Town Hall
De Waag in Hoorn
Lebuinus Church Deventer

Hendrick de Keyser (born May 15, 1565 in Utrecht , † May 15, 1621 in Amsterdam ) was a Dutch architect and sculptor who, together with Lieven de Key, is considered the leading master builder of the Golden Age and whose buildings are regarded as the high point of the Renaissance .

life and work

De Keyser's father was Cornelis Dirxzoon de Keyser , a Utrecht master carpenter who was known for making fine furniture. De Keyser was apprenticed to the Utrecht sculptor Cornelis Bloemaert , was with him possibly on a study trip to Paris in 1520 and went with him to Amsterdam in 1591, where he was employed as a stadsbeeldsnijder en -steenhouwer (city carver and sculptor) for the city of Amsterdam in 1594 received. In 1607 the city sent him to London, "omme aldaer inspectie te nemen op zeeckre wercken" (to take a personal look at well-known works), where he also exchanged ideas with Inigo Jones . In 1612 he was appointed city architect of Amsterdam.

Characteristics of de Keyser's style are the small pilasters , cornices , frontons, gables and loose decorative elements, such as vases or monumental pinacles made of white stone in the typical red brick facades of the Renaissance. His buildings are partly influenced by classicist elements, but his later work tends more towards Dutch Mannerism , the architectural style between Renaissance and Baroque .

As a sculptor, de Keyser was primarily influenced by the Delft sculptor Willem van Tetrode (1525–1580), who had undertaken a study trip to Italy and whose main work was the destroyed high altar with 24 stone figures of the Oude Kerk in Delft.

De Keyser worked with different materials such as bronze , marble and terracotta . In the Rijksmuseum there are some small bronze figures, for example the Mercurius . His lifelike terracotta busts, usually commissioned portraits, are better known. His greatest known work as a sculptor is the mausoleum of Prince Willem I in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, on which he worked until his death. A study for this grave monument, a terracotta model, is also in the possession of the Rijksmuseum.

De Keyser was married to Beyken van Wilderen (* 1569 in Antwerp , buried on November 23, 1621 in Amsterdam) since April 6, 1591 . He had four sons: Pieter took over his father's business after his death and completed some of his works, including the Westerkerk and Noorderkerk in Amsterdam and the mausoleum of Prince Willem I. The sons Willem and Hendrick became sculptors, his son Thomas became a painter.

Hendrick de Keyser was buried in Amsterdam's Zuiderkerk (South Church), which he built from 1603 to 1614.

Buildings (selection)

Afterlife

The Dutch Association for the Protection of Historic Houses, founded in 1918, named itself after Hendrick de Keyser. She is committed to the research and monument protection of important residential buildings in the Netherlands. Much like the National Trust in Great Britain, it takes over many buildings as property and makes them available to the public.

literature

  • Wilhelm Adolf Schmidt:  Keyser, Hendrik de . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 15, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, p. 693 f.
  • Michael North: The golden age. Art and Commerce in 17th Century Dutch Painting , 2nd, exp. Ed., Cologne; Weimar; Vienna, Böhlau 2001. ISBN 3-412-13700-6
  • Hendrick de Keyser: Architectura Moderna, modern bouwkunst in Amsterdam 1600–1625. Amsterdam 2008 (new edition of the catalog raisonné published in 1631 with 40 engravings).

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Keyser, Hendrick de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch architect and sculptor, master builder of Amsterdam and representative of the Golden Age
DATE OF BIRTH May 15, 1565
PLACE OF BIRTH Utrecht
DATE OF DEATH May 15, 1621
Place of death Amsterdam