Agnes Block
Encyclopedia
Agnes, or Agneta Block was a Dutch Mennonite art collector and horticulturalist. She is most remembered as the compiler of an album of flower and insect paintings.
, who became a regular visitor at her house. Vondel had married Mayken de Wolff, who was the sister of Agnes's first husband's father. This elderly uncle ate at her house on Fridays, and is probably one of her greatest influences.
river in Loenen
, which she proceeded to decorate with a large collection of curiosities, including the gardens, which were planted with exotic plants. She enjoyed drawing and painting in water colors, and her garden lent itself to this hobby. She is registered as an artist with the Dutch Institute of Art History as a papercut artist and painter, but no works survive. To embellish her albums, she hired artists to paint for her albums. Unfortunately, her collection, and the garden have not survived, but research has revealed many of the original pages of her three albums in the albums of later collectors.
Alida Withoos
was - with her brother Pieter Withoos
- one of the many artists from Hoorn
who painted plants while in residence at Vijverhof. Agnes Block's stepson owned a summer house in Purmerend
, near Hoorn
. Other painters from Hoorn were Johannes Bronkhorst, Herman Henstenburgh
, and a friend of Alida's father, Otto Marseus van Schrieck
.
Painters from other cities who lived at Vijverhof and made contributions were Maria Sibylla Merian
, her daughter Johanna Helena Herolts-Graff (1668 - ?), Pieter Holsteyn II
, Nicolaas Juweel (Rotterdam, 1639 - Rotterdam, 1704), Jan Moninckx
, Maria Moninckx
, Herman Saftleven
, Rochus van Veen
, Marino Benaglia Venetiano, and Nicolaes de Vree
. Agnes Block was in regular correspondence with other horticulturalists such as Jan Commelin
.
Life
Agneta Block was the daughter of a successful Mennonite textile merchant. She first married Hans de Wolff (1613–1670), a silk merchant, in Amsterdam in 1649, and after he died, in 1674 she remarried in Amsterdam Sijbrand de Flines (1623–1697). In Amsterdam, she lived on the Herengracht close to Joost van den VondelJoost van den Vondel
Joost van den Vondel was a Dutch writer and playwright. He is considered the most prominent Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century. His plays are the ones from that period that are still most frequently performed, and his epic Joannes de Boetgezant , on the life of John the Baptist, has...
, who became a regular visitor at her house. Vondel had married Mayken de Wolff, who was the sister of Agnes's first husband's father. This elderly uncle ate at her house on Fridays, and is probably one of her greatest influences.
Vijverhof
After the death of her first husband, Agneta bought a country estate on the VechtVecht
Vecht may refer to:* Vecht , a Rhine branch in the Netherlands from Utrecht to the Eemmeer near Muiden, sometimes called Utrechtse Vecht** Vechtstreek is the region along the above river Vecht...
river in Loenen
Loenen
Loenen is a former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It was in the Vechtstreek area. On January 1, 2011, Loenen merged with Breukelen and Maarssen to form Stichtse Vecht.- Population centres :...
, which she proceeded to decorate with a large collection of curiosities, including the gardens, which were planted with exotic plants. She enjoyed drawing and painting in water colors, and her garden lent itself to this hobby. She is registered as an artist with the Dutch Institute of Art History as a papercut artist and painter, but no works survive. To embellish her albums, she hired artists to paint for her albums. Unfortunately, her collection, and the garden have not survived, but research has revealed many of the original pages of her three albums in the albums of later collectors.
Alida Withoos
Alida Withoos
Alida Withoos was a Dutch botanical artist and painter. She was the daughter of the painter Matthias Withoos.-Life:...
was - with her brother Pieter Withoos
Pieter Withoos
Pieter Withoos , was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:Withoos was born in Amersfoort. According to Houbraken he was the second son of Mathias Withoos, brother to the painters Johannes, Frans and Alida Withoos...
- one of the many artists from Hoorn
Hoorn
-Cities :* Purmerend * Enkhuizen * Alkmaar * Amsterdam * Lelystad * Den Helder * Leeuwarden -Towns :* Edam...
who painted plants while in residence at Vijverhof. Agnes Block's stepson owned a summer house in Purmerend
Purmerend
Purmerend is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.The city is surrounded by polders, such as the Purmer, Beemster and the Wormer. The city became the trade center of the region but the population grew relatively slow. Only after 1960 did the population...
, near Hoorn
Hoorn
-Cities :* Purmerend * Enkhuizen * Alkmaar * Amsterdam * Lelystad * Den Helder * Leeuwarden -Towns :* Edam...
. Other painters from Hoorn were Johannes Bronkhorst, Herman Henstenburgh
Herman Henstenburgh
Herman Henstenburgh , was a 18th century painter from the Northern Netherlands.-Biography:According Johan van Gool he was very good at copying prints and copied the watercolours of Pieter Holstein, which were so good that his parents let him become a pupil of Johannes Bronkhorst in 1683...
, and a friend of Alida's father, Otto Marseus van Schrieck
Otto Marseus van Schrieck
Otto Marseus van Schrieck was a painter in the Dutch Golden Age.-Biography:Marseus van Schrieck spent the years 1648-1657 in Rome and Florence with the painters Matthias Withoos and Willem van Aelst, after which he settled in Amsterdam. He is best known for his paintings of forest flora and fauna...
.
Painters from other cities who lived at Vijverhof and made contributions were Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian was a naturalist and scientific illustrator who studied plants and insects and made detailed paintings about them...
, her daughter Johanna Helena Herolts-Graff (1668 - ?), Pieter Holsteyn II
Pieter Holsteyn II
Pieter Holsteyn , was a Dutch Golden Age watercolor painter and engraver.-Biography:According to Houbraken who called him "Holstein", his father Pieter Holsteyn I was a good glass painter and his brother Cornelis was a good painter...
, Nicolaas Juweel (Rotterdam, 1639 - Rotterdam, 1704), Jan Moninckx
Jan Moninckx
Jan Moninckx , was a Dutch botanical artist and painter, best known for the colour plates he and his daughter, Maria Moninckx, created and which make up the nine-volume Moninckx Atlas...
, Maria Moninckx
Maria Moninckx
Maria Moninckx , was a Dutch botanical artist and painter, best known for the colour plates she and her father, Jan Moninckx, created and which make up the nine-volume Moninckx Atlas...
, Herman Saftleven
Herman Saftleven
Herman Saftleven the Younger , was a Dutch painter of the Baroque period.-Biography:Born in Rotterdam, Saftleven lived most of his life in Utrecht. His brothers, Cornelis Saftleven and Abraham Saftleven were both painters...
, Rochus van Veen
Rochus van Veen
-Biography:According to Houbraken, he followed in the artistic footsteps of his father Otto van Veen, who may have been his uncle. Rochus had two sons who also became painters. All three lived in Beverwijk and all specialized in painting watercolors of plants, birds and insects on paper and parchment...
, Marino Benaglia Venetiano, and Nicolaes de Vree
Nicolaes de Vree
-Biography:De Vree was born in Amsterdam. According to Houbraken, he painted landscapes, flowers, thistles, and herbs. Houbraken had a hard time finding information about his character, though there were many who were willing to discuss his works...
. Agnes Block was in regular correspondence with other horticulturalists such as Jan Commelin
Jan Commelin
Jan Commelin , also known as Jan Commelijn or Johannes Commelinus, was the son of Isaac Commelin a historian; his brother Casparus was a bookseller and newspaper publisher. Jan a botanist became a professor of botany when many plants were imported from the Cape and Ceylon and a new system had to be...
.
External links
- Biography of Alida Withoos in Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon
- Konstboeck Website of Wageningen university with period illustrations of plants, some of which came from Agnes Block's collection
- Information over Vijverhof in Dutch
- Website of the Netherlands Institute for Ecology showing an old print of Vijverhof
- Print of Vijverhof showing the owner in 1710 in the website of the Utrecht archives