Hendrick de Keyser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hendrick de Keyser (born: 15 May 1565 - died: 15 May 1621) was a Dutch sculptor and architect born in Utrecht, Netherlands. He was the father of Thomas de Keyser who was an architect and portrait painter. As a young man the Utrecht-born artist Hendrick de Keyser was apprenticed to master Cornelis Bloemaert. At the age of 26 he followed Bloemaert to Amsterdam. Soon he set to work as an independent artist. When his talent became generally appreciated he was appointed city stone mason and sculptor. In fact his duties included all of the tasks we now associate with the job of city architect. De Keyser is justly famous for a number of important buildings which belong to the core of our historic sites. His Commodity Exchange of 1608-1613 was, sadly enough, pulled down in the 19th century. Today the Zuiderkerk (1603-1611) and accompanying tower (1614), the Delft Town Hall (1618-1620), the Westerkerk (1620-1631) and Westertoren (built in 1638 but in a modified version) are among the historic buildings which provide us with important insights into De Keyser’s work.
It is hard to overstate the importance of Hendrick de Keyser for the Amsterdam architecture of the early decades of the 17th century. He single-handedly created what is known today as the Amsterdam Renaissance style through his revolutionary approach to the local Renaissance styles which had developed throughout the Netherlands.
Apart from pursuing a career as an architect, De Keyser remained active as a sculptor. He designed the tomb of William the Silent for the Nieuwe Kerk at Delft (1614-1623). However, De Keyser did not live to see the finished product. His son Pieter completed the project.
In 1631, ten years after De Keyser’s death, Cornelis Danckertsz included the architect’s most important sketches in his book ’Architectura Moderna’.
De Keyser can not be accused of provincialism. His international contacts helped him to keep in touch with the mainstream of European architecture. The Amsterdam city administrators sent him to England where he worked with Inigo Jones (1573-1652). Jones was the first English architect who went to Italy to learn all he could about classical architecture. He studied the famous treatises written by the Roman architect Vitruvius (circa 30 BC), and his intimate knowledge of the work of Palladio (1518-1580) gave him the nickname the English Palladio. The Banqueting House in London, designed for the Stuart monarchs, became the prototype of classical architecture in England. When De Keyser returned to Amsterdam one of Jones’ assistants, Nicholas Stone, joined him. Stone worked with De Keyser in Amsterdam from 1607 to 1613 and even became his son-in-law. It was not a coincidence that De Keyser focused his attention on England and English architecture. Amsterdam, as a commercial centre the whole of Europe had to reckon with, maintained close contacts with England.
De Keyser’s mature style, the Amsterdam Renaissance style, deviates from the traditional Renaissance architecture in many respects. Classical elements such as pilasters, cornices, frontons etc. were used on a large scale, but mainly as decorative elements. De Keyser never slavishly followed the tenets of classical architecture as laid down in the Italian treatises. His version of Renaissance architecture, perhaps better termed Mannerism, came to full bloom at the end of the second decade of the 17th century. The style we call Dutch Classicism was to succeed this style within the next few decades.
