View source for Gerrit de Graeff (I.) van Zuid-Polsbroek

{{Infobox officeholder
| image               =Gerrit de Graeff (1711-1752).jpg
| order               =
| office              =Chairman of the [[Dutch East Indies Company]] and the [[Dutch West Indies Company]]
| term_start          =1736 / 1737
| term_end            =1752
| predecessor         =[[Mattheus Lestevenon (1674-1743)|Mattheus Lestevenon]]
| successor           =
| party               =[[Dutch States Party]]
| order2              =<!-- Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number -->
| office2             =<!-- Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number -->
| term_start2         =<!-- Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number -->
| term_end2           =<!-- Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number -->
| governor2           =<!-- Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number -->
| succeeding2         =<!-- Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number -->
| predecessor2        =<!-- Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number -->
| successor2          =<!-- Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number -->
| constituency2       =<!-- Can be repeated up to eight times by changing the number -->
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| birth_date          =1711
| birth_place         =[[Amsterdam]]
| death_date          =1752
| death_place         =Amsterdam
| nationality         =Dutch
| spouse              =Elizabeth Lestevenon
| relations           =[[Mattheus Lestevenon]] (brother in law)
| children            =Geertruid Joanna, [[Gerrit de Graeff II|Gerrit]], Elisabeth Jacoba
| residence           =Castle [[Ilpenstein]] and a Cityhouse at [[Herengracht]] 573
| occupation          =[[Regent]], [[Landlord]]
| profession          =
}}
'''Gerrit de Graeff''' (also ''Gerrit de Graeff van Zuid-Polsbroek)'' (27 February 1711 in [[Amsterdam]] – 10 November 1752) belonged to the [[Patrician (post-Roman Europe)|patrician]] class of Amsterdam and held the feudal titles Free Lord of [[Free and high fief of Zuid-Polsbroek|Zuid-Polsbroek]] as those of [[Lordship of Purmerend, Purmerland and Ilpendam|21st Purmerland and Ilpendam]]. Known for his wealth and notorious for his stinginess, De Graeff was not particularly popular.<ref name="Herengracht">{{cite web |url=http://www.tassenmuseum.nl/default.aspx?pagename=historie_pand_herengracht&language=NL |title=Tassenmuseum Hendrikje |accessdate=2007-09-28 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928013057/http://www.tassenmuseum.nl/default.aspx?pagename=historie_pand_herengracht&language=NL |archivedate=September 28, 2007 |df=mdy-all }} House at Herengracht 553, now called ''Tassenmuseum Hendrikje''</ref><ref name="dbnl.org">[http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/molh003nieu02_01/molh003nieu02_01_1039.htm Biography of Gerrit de Graeff at "DBNL" (dutch)]</ref>
==Family==
Gerrit was a member of the illustrious [[De Graeff]] family from the [[Dutch Golden Age]]. His parents where [[Johan de Graeff]] and Johanna Hooft.<ref name="dbnl.org"/> In 1734 he married Maria Elisabeth Sautijn (1709-1736), daughter from [[Jan Sautijn]] (burgomaster of Amsterdam) and Constantia Catharina Munter, and in 1739 he remarried Elizabeth Lestevenon (1716–1766). She was a daughter of Abraham Lestevenon (1675-1728) and Geertruid de Vroede (1681-1745)<ref name="Leeuw">[https://books.google.com/books?id=CpMSAAAAYAAJ&q=de+nederlandsche+leeuw+de+graeff De Nederlandsche leeuw: Maandblad van het Koninklijk Genealogisch-Heraldiek Genootschap, books 1895-1900, p 139]</ref> and herself a nice of [[Mattheus Lestevenon (1674-1743)|Mattheus Lestevenon]],  [[lord|heer]] of [[Strijen]], [[mayor of Amsterdam]] and Lady Catharina Elisabeth Livingstone (1689-1717; nice of Major-General [[Thomas Livingstone, 1st Viscount Teviot|Sir Thomas Livingstone, 1st Viscount Teviot]]). The cousin of Elizabeth, [[Mattheus Lestevenon]], was the Dutch ambassador to France.
[[File:Ondertrouw Gerrit de Graeff en Elisabet Lestevenon (1739).jpg|130px|thumb|left|Marriage certificate of Gerrit de Graeff and Elisabeth Lestevenon from 1739]]
[[File:Coat of arms De Graeff as Free Lords of Zuid-Polsbroek, Purmerland and Ilpendam.jpg|130px|thumb|Full coat of arms De Graeff (drawing by [[Matthias Laurenz Gräff]], 2023)]]
From his first marriage De Graeff had one child, [[Joan de Graeff]] (1735-1754), his succeeder as Lord of Zuid-Polsbroek, who died at the age of 19.<ref name="Leeuw"/> With his second wife he had six children; Abraham (1743–1744), Pieter (1746–1762) and Elisabeth Jacoba de Graeff (1748–1750) died young. The children who have reached adulthood are:<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=CpMSAAAAYAAJ&q=de+nederlandsche+leeuw+de+graeff De Nederlandsche leeuw: Maandblad van het Koninklijk Genealogisch-Heraldiek Genootschap, books 1895-1900, p 139/140]</ref>
* Geertruid Joanna de Graeff (1740–1801) was first married to Isaac Ernst des H.R. Rijksbaron de Petersen (1737–1783), [[Schout-bij-nacht]], and in 1790 to Mr François Jacob van de Wall (1756–1834)
* [[Gerrit de Graeff II.|Gerrit de Graeff]] (1741–1811) married in 1765 Christina van Herzeele (1748–1798)
* Elisabeth Jacoba de Graeff (1751–1802), married in 1768 Jan des H.R. Rijksbaron De Petersen (1745–1786), the younger brother of Isaac Ernst
==Life==
In 1732 De Graeff finished his studies at the [[University of Leiden]]. In 1736 he became one of the [[Chairman|chairmen]] of the [[Dutch East Indies Company]] (VOC).<ref name="dbnl.org"/> One year later he was also appointed as one of the Chairmen of the [[Dutch West India Company]] (WIC).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.herenvanholland.nl/eigenaar.cfm?eigenaarnummer=191 |title=Heren van Holland &#124; Onderzoek naar heerlijke titels in Holland 1500-1800 |accessdate=2009-02-14 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624014501/http://www.herenvanholland.nl/eigenaar.cfm/?eigenaarnummer=191 |archivedate=June 24, 2015 |df=mdy-all }} De Graeffs Biographie from ''Heren van Holland''</ref> In 1739 he took place in the Amsterdam city government as a member of the [[vroedschap]] and [[Schepen]]. He acted also as captain of the [[schutterij]]. In 1742 his income was estimated at 20,000 to 22,000 [[Dutch guilder|guilders]] annually. From 1748 to 1752 De Graeff was one of the directors of the [[Sociëteit van Suriname|Company of Surinam]] and commissaris in [[Noorderkwartier]].<ref name="Leeuw"/><ref name="dbnl.org"/>
Gerrit de Graeff lived at [[Herengracht]], in a mansion now the [[Tassenmuseum Hendrikje]]. In the first half of the 18th century an extensive renovation of the building takes place, particularly of the interiors. In the large period room various ceiling paintings and a mantelpiece with richly carved and gilded ornaments were installed. A richly ornamented chimneypiece in the late [[Louis XIV style]] was placed in the small period room.<ref name="Herengracht"/> Most of the time he resided at his castle [[Ilpenstein]]. He also owned ''Bronstee'', a country estate near [[Heemstede]].
[[Image:Rembrandt_-_Jacob_Blessing_the_Children_of_Joseph_-_WGA19117.jpg|200px|thumb|[[Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph (Rembrandt)|Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph]] by [[Rembrandt]]]]
De Graeff had a huge and valuable art collection, and between 1738 and 1749, he secretly sold various masterpieces of Dutch painting depicting his ancestors to the Hamburg art dealer [[Anthony Rutgers]]. This also applies to [[Rembrandt|Rembrandt's]] painting of [[Andries de Graeff]] and [[Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph (Rembrandt)|Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph]], which the art dealer sold to Landgrave [[William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel]], who used it to decorate his picture gallery at [[Schloss Wilhelmshöhe|Wilhelmshöhe]] in [[Kassel]].<ref>[http://www.malerei-meisterwerke.de/bilder/rembrandt-harmensz.-van-rijn-jakob-segnet-die-soehne-des-joseph-(portraet-historie-des-petrus-scriverius-des-wilhelm-schrijver-der-wendela-de-graeff-und-ihrer-soehne)-08022.html]{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Rembrandts ''Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph'', Staatliche Museen Kassel</ref><ref>[http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/r/rembran/painting/portrai2/graeff.html] Rembrandts ''Portrait of Andries de Graeff'', Staatliche Museen Kassel</ref> De Graeff must have known for sure that it was the portrait of his relative Andries de Graeff, but he could not afford to squander his family portraits. The transaction was probably tacit and the portrait anonymous. When [[Hendrik Pothoven]] made drawings after portraits from the De Graeff collection for prints by [[Jacobus Houbraken]] between 1749 and 1759, he drew Andries de Graeff's bust of [[Artus Quellinus the Elder|Artus Quellinus]], so the painting by Rembrandt was probably no longer in De Graeff's collection at the time.<ref>Dudok van Heel, S.A.C. (1969), Het Maecenaat De Graeff en Rembrandt, p 154. In: Maandblad Genootschap Amstelodamum</ref>
Gerrit de Graeff died on november 12, 1752 at Ilpenstein. His burial chapel is located in the [[Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated)|Reformed Church]] in [[Ilpendam]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120905004058/http://www.kerkiw.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=77 www.kerkiw.nl - Ilpendam]</ref> [[Jacob Bicker Raije|Jacob Bicker Raye]] wrote in his diary about De Graeff's death:<ref>Jacob Bicker Raye [https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/molh003nieu02_01/molh003nieu02_01_1039.htm Digitale bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse letteren]</ref><ref>[https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/bick002dagb01_01/bick002dagb01_01_0022.htm Dagboek van Jacob Bicker Raye op DBNL (De Graeff, 10 November)]</ref>
Op 10 November is de Edl. Achtb. Heer Mr. ''Gerrit de Graeff, Vrijheer van Zuid Polsbroek, Heer van Purmerland en Ilpendam, na lange, zeer zware en ellendige pijnen te hebben uitgestaan, op een zeer jammerlijke wijze overleden. Hij was omtrent 43 jaar oud. Bij zijn eerste vrouw heeft hij een zoon en bij zijn tweede vrouw, die nog leeft, heeft hij diverse geprocureert (waarvan slechts drie den volwassen leeftijd bereikten). Hij laat een schat van gelt naar, dog was uytermaate suynig, beknibbelde ider ter alder scharpste, gunde een ander niets, benijdende een iders welvaart, en hat plisier om die geene, daar hij over gestelt was, haar inkomen en emolumente te besnoyje, bedisputeeren en te verminderen, sodat hij, na gedachte, van seer weinige, als hij niemandt goet deet (als zeer gedwongen) betreurt sal worden.''
==Titles==
{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[De Graeff|House De Graeff]]|27 February|1711|10 November|1752}}
{{s-reg | }}
{{succession box | title=[[Free and high fief of Zuid-Polsbroek|Free Lord of Zuid-Polsbroek]]| before=[[Johan de Graeff]] | after=[[Joan de Graeff]] | years=1714–1752}}
{{succession box | title=[[Free and high Lordship of Purmerend, Purmerland and Ilpendam|21st Lord of the Free and high Lordship Purmerland and Ilpendam]]| before=[[Cornelis de Graeff II.]] | after=Agneta de Graeff (1721)| years=1719–1721, 1721-1752}}
{{s-end}}
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
==Literature==
* Graeff, P. de (P. de Graeff Gerritsz en [[Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek]]) ''Genealogie van de familie De Graeff van Polsbroek'', Amsterdam 1882.
* Bruijn, J. H. de ''Genealogie van het geslacht De Graeff van Polsbroek 1529/1827'', met bijlagen. De Bilt 1962–63.
* Moelker, H.P. ''De heerlijkheid Purmerland en Ilpendam'' (1978 Purmerend)
* [[J. Elias|Elias, J.E.]], De Vroedschap van Amsterdam 1578–1795 (1903–1905 Haarlem), p.&nbsp;693.
==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graeff, Gerrit De, I}}
[[Category:1711 births]]
[[Category:1752 deaths]]
[[Category:Nobility from Amsterdam]]
[[Category:House De Graeff|Gerrit I, Graeff de]]
[[Category:Lords of Purmerland and Ilpendam]]
[[Category:Lords of Zuid-Polsbroek]]
[[Category:Administrators of the Dutch East India Company]]
[[Category:Administrators of the Dutch West India Company]]
[[Category:Aldermen of Amsterdam]]
[[Category:Dutch West India Company people from Amsterdam]]
[[Category:Dutch East India Company people from Amsterdam]]