Andries de Graeff

Andries de Graeff (19 February 1611 – 30 November 1678) was a regent and burgomaster (mayor) of Amsterdam and leading Dutch statesman during the Golden Age.

He came from the De Graeff family, which, together with the Bicker family by marriage, held political power in Amsterdam, Holland, and ultimately in the Republic of the Seven United Provinces. He was a member of a family of regents who belonged to the republican political movement also referred to as the ‘state oriented’, the Dutch States Party, as opposed to the Orangisten and opponent of the political ambitions of the House of Orange.

At the height of the Dutch Golden Age, during the First Stadtholderless Period from 1650 to the Rampjaar 1672, political power within Holland rested primarily with two republican and state-minded families. In Amsterdam this lay with the brothers Andries and Cornelis de Graeff, and in The Hague with the brothers Cornelis and Johan de Witt, the leaders of Holland's pro-state faction, which was reinforced by their close collaboration and mutual kinship. Andries de Graeff was one of the leading figures seeking to end the Eighty Years' War between the United Netherlands and the Kingdom of Spain. This took place in 1648 with the Peace of Münster. After his brother's death in 1664, he took over the leadership of the De Graeff faction and continued his politics.

Together with his brother Cornelis de Graeff he became an illustrious Patron and Art collector of various artists and poets of the Dutch Golden Age. His patronage consisted of commissions to artists such as Rembrandt, Artus Quellinus, Gerard ter Borch and Govert Flinck for the portraits of himself and his family. He was also sung about by poets such as Joost van den Vondel and Jan Vos. great-great-granddaughter of the important late medieval Amsterdam city regent and burgomaster Andries Boelens. His father was of free-thinking, republican sentiment, but also known for his obsession with fame. who was nevertheless not a principled anti-Orangist (supporters if the House of Orange-Nassau). He honored the inheritance of his father, Dirck Jansz Graeff, who was on friendly terms with William the Silent of Orange. The young De Graeffs were influenced by their father's antagonistic attitude towards political issues.

Genealogical and political Legacy Descendants of Andries Boelens. Overview of the personal family relationships of the Amsterdam oligarchy between the regent-dynasties Boelens Loen, De Graeff, Bicker (van Swieten), Witsen and Johan de Witt in the Dutch Golden Age

The De Graeff family therefore never boasted about the age of their own family in Amsterdam. But Andries and his brother Cornelis de Graeff together with their cousins Andries and Cornelis Bicker, saw themselves as the political heirs of the old regent family Boelens, whose main lineage, which had remained catholic, had died out in the male line in 1647. They had received the very significant first names Andries and Cornelis from their Boelens ancestors. As in a real dynasty, members of the two families frequently intermarried in the 17th century in order to keep their political and commercial capital together. Its great historical ancestor was Andries Boelens (1455-1519), the city's most influential medieval mayor. Both families, Bicker and De Graeff, descend in the female line from Boelens. He was allowed to hold the highest office in Amsterdam fifteen times.

Von Graben connection

Shortly before Andries, the "Edle Herr von Graef(f)", died in end of 1678, he and his only adult son, Cornelis de Graeff, were raised to the German Imperial Knighthood by Emperor Leopold I and their coat of arms improved. The reason was a relationship claimed by De Graeff to the noble family Von Graben, but this was doubted by his political opponents during De Graeff's lifetime. With Wolfgang von Graben and his son Peter von Graben (* around 1450/1460), family members from Laibach (Ljubljana) came to Holland around 1476 [reported also in 1483] in the entourage of Archduke Maximilian of Austria [the later Emperor]. The latter had just acquired Holland by marrying Mary of Burgundy. Margarethe von Croppenstein is reported as Peter's mother, but this cannot be correct, since she is mentioned as the wife of a Wolfgang von Graben, but only in the 16th century, which therefore applies to a later Wolfgang von Graben. Wolfgang entered the military service and was assigned to the archduke. Peter took the name Pieter (de) Graeff (or De Graaff), and also appears as the progenitor of the De Graeff family. De Graeff was the Dutch spelling of Von Graben during the 14th and 15th century. In the Diploma of Nobility loaned to Andries de Graeff, it was affirmed that the family de Graeff was formerly called von Graben, which is the same as de Graeff. He also appears as the first known bearer of the Graeffsche/Grabenschen (family) coat of arms with the silver spade on a red background and the silver bird [swan] on a blue background. This family today shows the same coat of arms as the De Graeff family. However, the Dutch Nieuw Nederlandsch Biographical Woordenboek doubts this family constellation: A certain Wolfgang von Graben, who came to Holland around 1483, is said to have married there and had a son Pieter, who is said to be the progenitor of the Dutch family...

Feudality

In 1627/1636 Andries de Graeff inherited the manor Vredenhof (Voorschoten) from both his uncle Jan Dircksz Graeff (?–1627) and his father Jacob Dircksz de Graeff. There he had the manorial right to breed swans.

He also bought large plots of land in the Oud-Naarden (Naarden) area and thus built his country estate Graeffenveld. He had a hill built there, the Venusberg, on the top of which a lion statue was erected, and which was then called Leeuwenberg.

In 1660 De Graeff received the Lordship of Urk and Emmeloord from the States of Holland for the city of Amsterdam. Oddly enough, he received the fief as a heritage fief (tot eenen erfleenen binnen after zusters kindt, niet te versterven, ende althoos te commen op den oudsten ende naesten, alzoo wel van manhooft als van wijfhoofde). He held this administration until the Rampjaar 1672.

Coat of arms

Andries de Graeff's coat of arms of origin was quartered and showed the following symbols: field 1 (left above) the silver shovel on a red background of their paternal ancestors, the Herren von Graben field 2 (right above) it shows a silver falcon on a blue background. The origin of the falcon lies in the possession of the Valckeveen estate (later the Valckenburg estate) in Gooiland field 3 (left below), same as field 2 field 4 (right below), same as field 1 helmet covers in red and silver helm adornment shows an upright silver spade with ostrich feathers (Herren von Graben) motto: MORS SCEPTRA LIGONIBUS AEQUAT (DEATH MAKES SEPTRES AND HOES EQUAL)

The personal coat of arms of Andries de Graeff between around 1638 and 1677 is quartered and shows the following symbols: field 1 (left above) shows the silver shovel on red of their paternal ancestors, the Herren von Graben field 2 (right above) shows the silver swan on blue of the Fief Vredenhof field 3 (left below) shows the silver swan of their maternal ancestors, the De Grebber family of Waterland field 4 (right below), same as field 1 helmet covers in red and silver helm adornment shows an upright silver spade with ostrich feathers (Herren von Graben) motto: MORS SCEPTRA LIGONIBUS AEQUAT (DEATH MAKES SEPTRES AND HOES EQUAL)

In 1677 Andries de Graeff was awarded the imperial knighthood and his coat of arms increased. His coat of arms was crowned, and the two shovels in the coat of arms were also gilded and additionally hung with golden crowns.

Marriage and progeny

In 1646 Andries de Graeff married Elisabeth Bicker van Swieten (1623-1656), who was both his full niece and the daughter of his cousin burgomaster Cornelis Bicker van Swieten. Alida de Graeff (1651–1738), m. 1678 Diederik van Veldhuyzen (1651–1716), Lord of Heemstede, patrician and politician of Utrecht, President and Councilor of the States of Utrecht Arnoldina de Graeff (1652–1703) m. 1681 Transisalanus Adolphus Baron van Voorst tot Hagenvoorde, Vrijheer of Jaarsveld, member of the Knighthood of Holland, confidant and steward of stadholder-king William III and lieutenant-stadtholder of Gorinchem; son of Hidde van Voorst and Joanna van Haersolte tot Staverden en Bredenhorst, vrouwe van Staverden Bredenhorst en Zwaluwenberg (†1720), herself a daughter of Simon van Haersolte (1610-1673) and Adriana Josina Bentinck (ca 1620-ca 1685) Jacob de Graeff, died at early age

Andries de Graeff was also tempted to marry off his children to people from different circles. The marriages of his daughters, especially Arnoldina's with Baron Van Voorst, showed a conscious rapprochement with the Orangism camp in the republic even after his political end. Andries de Graeff was probably not as anti-Orangist as his politics would suggest.

Politics Influence The De Graeff family was in the circle of the Amsterdam oligarchy of the Golden Age and belonged to the ruling states oriented patriciate of the province of Holland. Both, Andries and his older brother Cornelis de Graeff, were critical of the Orange family's influence. Together with the Republican political leader Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt, the De Graeff-family strove for the abolition of stadtholderships, but also try to keep a good relationship with them and their sympathizers. They desired the full sovereignty of the individual regions in a form in which the Republic of the United Seven Netherlands was not ruled by a single person. Instead of a sovereign (or stadtholder) the political and military power was lodged with the States General and with the regents of the cities in Holland. and reached a degree in canon and civil law. De Graeff moved back to Amsterdam for a time in 1653. During this time he held positions as Commissioner of the Haarlemmermeer, Hoofdingeland (highest rank in dike management) of the Watergraafsmeer and Dikemaster of Nieuwer-Amstel. The sculptures for the gift were selected by the pre-eminent sculptor in the Netherlands, Artus Quellinus, and Gerrit van Uylenburgh, the son of Rembrandt's dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh, advised the De Graeff's and the States General of the Netherlands on the purchase. The Dutch Gift was a collection of 28 mostly Italian Renaissance paintings and 12 classical sculptures, along with a yacht, the Mary, and furniture. Most of the paintings and all the Roman sculptures were from the Reynst collection, the most important seventeenth-century Dutch collection of paintings of the Italian sixteenth century. The collection was given to Charles II to mark his return to power in the English Restoration, before which Charles had spent many years in exile in the Dutch Republic during the rule of the English Commonwealth. It was intended to strengthen diplomatic relations between England and the Republic, but only a few years after the gift the two nations would be at war again in the Second Anglo-Dutch War of 1665–67.

Faction De Graeff The Arrival of Cornelis de Graeff and Members of His Family at Soestdijk, His Country Estate. Andries de Graeff is the right one of the three figures standing on the roadside to the right of center; painting by Jacob van Ruisdael and Thomas de Keyser, (1656/1660) (National Gallery of Ireland)

From the beginning of the 1660s, two other leading groups emerged in the Amsterdam Vroedschap, in addition to the influential pro-state faction De Graeff; the faction of Gillis Valckenier, who was considered coarse, cunning and scheming and in later years Orange-minded, and the Henrick Hooft faction, which stood as a middle party between the two opposite poles. Between 1661 and 1663 Andries de Graeff acted as a councilor of States of Holland and West Friesland at The Hague.

In 1666, together with the burgomasters Valckenier, Hendrick Dircksz Spiegel and Gerard Claesz Hasselaer, he presented the French Foreign Minister Hugues de Lionne with a representative painting of Amsterdam by Ludolf Backhuysen. The regents of Amsterdam hoped for the benevolent support of France.

The result of the Perpetual Edict (1667)

In 1667, Andries de Graeff, along with De Witt and wanting to break their power, In July, due to the immense pressure from the population, the Amsterdam Vroedschap decided to rescind the Perpetual Edict created in 1667 - the abolition of the (Oranian) stadtholdership, He continued to take on the task of bringing the resolution to The Hague. As he was about to leave, he was stoned by a crowd incited by one of his political opponents, who wanted to assassinate him. His wig was torn off and he was almost stabbed with a sword afterwards. De Graeff managed to escape back to the City house op de Dam with the help of the Citizens' Guard. After a speech to the crowd by burgomasters Cornelis de Vlaming van Oudshoorn and Henrick Hooft, De Graeff was able to pass through the Haarlemmerpoort, accompanied by Hooft and De Vlaming van Oudshoorn and the military guard commanded by his brother-in-law, Colonel Cornelis Geelvinck be smuggled out of town. A contemporary report states the following: de Graff, Bürgermeister von Amsterdam / wird von dem gemeinen Pöbel angefallen / wird aus der Stadt convoyiret. (de Graff, mayor of Amsterdam / is attacked by the common mob / is convoyed out of the city.)

On August 12, William III to visited Amsterdam. At the Vroedschap session, he was courted "with great zeal" by Hooft, who also led him to the seat of the president-burgomaster. When the meeting was almost over, De Graeff went straight for the prince with outstretched hand, but it was noticeable that Willem "did not accept him aen sach". The cards seemed to have already been reshuffled, and Hooft had succeeded in gaining the Orangeman's favor against De Graeff.

The brothers Johan and Cornelis de Witt were accused in pamphlets by Oranian partisans of wanting to replace the House of Orange with that of De Witt together with Louis XIV of France.

During the Vroedschaps meeting on 3 September, De Graeff offered his support to Amsterdam's new powerful politician, Valckenier, who vehemently refused, swearing at both him and his late Cornelis de Graeff. De Graeff resigned from politics that same day, but was not expelled from the government and from all offices until September 11 (September 10 session). De Graeff's brother-in-law Lambert Reynst and his two nephews Pieter and Jacob de Graeff, the sons of his late brother Cornelis. It is striking that twelve of these politicians were among those who expelled Valckenier and his faction from the Vroedschap in 1671. This event marked the end of Andries de Graeff's Wittians (Johan de Witt), but by contrast Hooft and his fellow factions were able to remain in the Vroedschap. It was probably the reward for Hooft having served the Orangeman well and owed his subservience to him.

Conclusion and outlook In the end, despite his best efforts, Andries de Graeff failed to take over from his late brother Cornelis and thus ensure a stable Amsterdam (Dutch) government and the support of Johan de Witt. This meant the political exit of the De Graeff faction in the government of Amsterdam and its influence on Holland.

The conflicts between Wilhelm III of Orange and the patricians of Amsterdam in the Rampjaar 1672 showed that neither Gillis Valckenier nor Henrick Hooft can be considered convinced Orangists. The decisive factors here were mainly the commercial interests for which Valckenier campaigned and at the same time accused his rival Andries de Graeff of wasteful politics. Likewise, the anti-French policies of Valckenier and Coenraad van Beuningen arose from their belief that trade would benefit them. This makes her conflict with Johan de Witt, the epitome of the "French Connection", and also De Graeff, understandable. It can be assumed that it was not of primary interest to Valckenier whether the Oranger would become stadtholder. When he advocated the continuation of the war with France after 1674, there were arguments with Valckenier because Amsterdam was now benefiting from the peace.

Last years and death

Andries Graeff initially stayed in Amsterdam. De Graeff was one of the 250 richest people of the Dutch Golden Age and was initially posted a fortune of 292,000 guilders in 1674, but this sum was increased to 700,000 guilders (equivalent to the sum of six million euros in 2009) through the influence of his old adversary Gillis Valckenier 2009 However, since his son Cornelis died young on October 16, half of his inheritance went to his son-in-law Diederik van Veldhuyzen, the husband of his older daughter Alida. In 1681 the husband of his younger daughter Arnoldina, Transisalanus Adolphus Baron van Voorst tot Hagenvoorde van Bergentheim, received estates from the De Graeff family worth 556,000 guilders, organized by Van Veldhuyzen. Jan Vos, Caspar Barlaeus, and Gerard Brandt, But this support ended abruptly when Rembrandt received a commission for a portrait from De Graeff, which, according to his family, represented "drunk and unfinished". De Graeff refused to pay him the immensely high sum of 500 guilders for this work. Eventually, Rembrandt sued De Graeff in a lawsuit he won, earning him his claimed payment of over 500 guilders. Since then, however, he has not been given any more commissions by the Amsterdam patrician class and has been ignored when it comes to prestigious public contracts. On the other hand, De Graeff was associated with the poet Van den Vondel as a patron and supporter into old age, and after the bankruptcy in 1656 he got him a job as an accountant at the Bank van Lening with a salary until the end of his life. The burgomasters of Amsterdam were inspired by the ancient Roman Republic and saw themselves as successors to the Roman patricians and Amsterdam as the successor to the Roman Republic. The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam explains more about this bust: This is impressively expressed in this impressive portrait bust by Andries de Graeff. Wearing a cloak resembling a classical toga, he had himself immortalized in marble in the guise of a Roman consul, as indicated by the letters "COS" (the abbreviation for a consul in ancient Rome) after his name on the pedestal.

Around 1660, Andries de Graeff was also painted at The Arrival of Cornelis de Graeff and Members of His Family at Soestdijk, His Country Estate by Thomas de Keyser and Jacob van Ruisdael. The painting Show his brother Cornelis and his wife Catharina Hooft and their sons Pieter and Jacob on horsebacks. Alongside his brothers-in-law Pieter Trip and Willem Schrijver, he is the right of the three figures standing on the roadside to the right of center.

In 1671, Gerard de Lairesse painted the three ceiling painting Triomf der Vrede (Triumph of Peace) for De Graeff. They had a clear message: the ‘Ware Vrijheid’ of the Republic was only protected by the republican regents of Amsterdam. The paintings glorify the De Graeff family's role as the protector of the Republican state, defender of ‘True Freedom’. It is also to be understood as a statement of opposition and against the return to the Oranian stadtholdership. De Graeff's choice of this subject was based on its quality as a signer and co-initiator of the Perpetual Edict and is not surprising. The ominous thing is that these ceiling paintings at Rampjaar were completed in 1672. Here came the True freedom - the era of the First Stadtholderless Period - to an abrupt end, as did burgomaster De Graeff's political career.

De Graeff also dealt very intensively with the genealogy of his house and its lineage, about which Van den Vondel wrote a treatise personally dedicated to him. Van den Vondel also decided the poem Op den edelen en gestrengen Heer Andries de Graeff, Ouden Raet en Rekenmeester der Graeflijckheit van Hollant, en West-Vrieslant, nu Out-Burgermeester, en Zeeraedt t'Amsterdam to De Graeff.

Andries de Graeff belonged to the richest persons of the Dutch Golden Age and in 1674 he owned 700,000 guilders

De Graeff had country estates with the Vredenhof near Voorschoten and Graeffenveld near Oud-Naarden (Naarden), where he had a hill built, the Venusberg, on the top of which a lion statue was erected, and which was then called Leeuwenberg.

Art collection Andries de Graeff had an art collection that included masterpieces by Rembrandt, Gerard ter Borch, Govaert Flinck and other Dutch masters of the 16th and 17th centuries. The historian Peter Burke, in his book Venice and Amsterdam: Study of Seventeenth-century Elites, mentions a large collection without giving any references. Also in De Graeff's collection were Rembrandt's painting Minerva - depicting Andries' son Cornelis. In the mid-18th century, Gerrit de Graeff, a descendant of De Graeff's brother Cornelis, sold various masterpieces, including Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph and Rembrandt's full length portrait of De Graeff to a Hamburg art dealer. Landgrave William VIII of Hesse-Kassel bought the paintings from him and furnished his picture gallery, today's Old Masters Picture Gallery, with them.

Popular culture In Peter Greenaway's film Nightwatching from 2007, Andries de Graeff is portrayed as a drunken man who has just come out of the brothel. Greenaway shows that De Graeff's portrayal of Rembrandt van Rijn reflects him as a war drunkard. De Graeff had only accepted the portrait on the condition that Rembrandt would add an extra detail to the painting afterwards: a gauntlet placed at De Graeff's feet; with this gesture one challenged the opponent to a duel.

Historiography The Dutch art historian and archivist Bas Dudok van Heel about the impact of the Bicker [in particularly the brothers Andries and Cornelis Bicker] and the linked De Graeff family [in particularly the brothers Cornelis and Andries de Graeff] and their missed (high) noble rank: In Florence families like Bicker and De Graeff would have been uncrowned princes. Here, in 1815, they should at least have been raised to the rank of count, but the southern Dutch nobility would not have put up with that. What you got here remained nothing half and nothing whole.