Adriaan van der Hoop
Encyclopedia
Adriaan van der Hoop was a Dutch banker and in the first half of the 19th century one of the richest men in the Netherlands
. He also was an influential politician: a member of the city council
, the States-Provincial in Haarlem
and the Senate in The Hague
. In his later years he became an important art and plant collector. On his death he left 250 paintings to the city of Amsterdam, who could barely pay the inheritance tax
. In this way Van der Hoop contributed substantially to the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
, secretary of the Sociëteit van Suriname, prosecutor for the Admiralty of Amsterdam
and Minister of the Navy. Adriaan studied law in Groningen
and Kiel
, when it was still a Danish city. (N.B. Holland was occupied by the French army between 1795 – 1813). With his Danish passport he traveled through Germany and England. In 1811, he was hired by the firm Hope & Co.
, for years an important lender to the Russian state.
Back in Holland in 1814 Adriaan van der Hoop was involved in the setting up of the Constitution and accompanied emperor Alexander I of Russia
on his visit to Holland. In 1815, he was appointed by Alexander Baring to lead the firm Hope & Co. A debt of 100,000 guilder owed by his brother-in-law Jan Clifford led in 1819 to a drawn-out court case between the two men. The day after the verdict, four years later, Clifford committed suicide with a pistol.
Adriaan raised rare plants on his country estate Spaarnberg, near Santpoort. There he grew 120 kinds of South African Erica
; he had two blossoming agave
s and ten kinds of orchids. The country house was designed by Jan David Zocher, who on van der Hoop's request also designed a new stock exchange in Amsterdam.
Adriaan owned racehorses and in 1832 he started to collect art objects on a large scale. His collection paintings - including items by Vermeer, Ruisdael, Rembrandt, Steen
and Adriaen van der Werff
- could be visited by appointment at his house on Keizersgracht 444, that he had bought in 1822. (The building had previously been inhabited by Thomas Hope, his father Jan Hope
and his cousin Henry Hope
.) Adriaan bought works by contemporary painters, including Jan Adam Kruseman, Johannes Christianus Schotel and Barend Cornelis Koekkoek
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He also was an influential politician: a member of the city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
, the States-Provincial in Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
and the Senate in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. In his later years he became an important art and plant collector. On his death he left 250 paintings to the city of Amsterdam, who could barely pay the inheritance tax
Inheritance tax
An inheritance tax or estate tax is a levy paid by a person who inherits money or property or a tax on the estate of a person who has died...
. In this way Van der Hoop contributed substantially to the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
Life
Adriaan van der Hoop was the son of Joan Cornelis van der HoopJoan Cornelis van der Hoop
Mr. Joan Cornelis van der Hoop was a Dutch lawyer, public prosecutor and minister and, at the time of the Dutch Republic, fulfilled important positions under king William I and - with the exception of the Batavian-French era - left his mark on the Dutch navy...
, secretary of the Sociëteit van Suriname, prosecutor for the Admiralty of Amsterdam
Admiralty of Amsterdam
The Admiralty of Amsterdam was the largest of the five Dutch admiralties at the time of the Dutch Republic. The administration of the various Admiralties was strongly influenced by provincial interests...
and Minister of the Navy. Adriaan studied law in Groningen
University of Groningen
The University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands as well as one of its largest. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated...
and Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, when it was still a Danish city. (N.B. Holland was occupied by the French army between 1795 – 1813). With his Danish passport he traveled through Germany and England. In 1811, he was hired by the firm Hope & Co.
Hope & Co.
Hope & Co. is the name of a famous Dutch bank that spanned two and a half centuries. Though the founders were Scotsmen, the bank was located in Amsterdam, and at the close of the 18th century it had offices in London as well.-Early days:...
, for years an important lender to the Russian state.
Back in Holland in 1814 Adriaan van der Hoop was involved in the setting up of the Constitution and accompanied emperor Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
on his visit to Holland. In 1815, he was appointed by Alexander Baring to lead the firm Hope & Co. A debt of 100,000 guilder owed by his brother-in-law Jan Clifford led in 1819 to a drawn-out court case between the two men. The day after the verdict, four years later, Clifford committed suicide with a pistol.
Adriaan raised rare plants on his country estate Spaarnberg, near Santpoort. There he grew 120 kinds of South African Erica
Erica
Erica ,the heaths or heathers, is a genus of approximately 860 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The English common names "heath" and "heather" are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance....
; he had two blossoming agave
Agave
Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....
s and ten kinds of orchids. The country house was designed by Jan David Zocher, who on van der Hoop's request also designed a new stock exchange in Amsterdam.
Adriaan owned racehorses and in 1832 he started to collect art objects on a large scale. His collection paintings - including items by Vermeer, Ruisdael, Rembrandt, Steen
Jan Steen
Jan Havickszoon Steen was a Dutch genre painter of the 17th century . Psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour are marks of his trade.-Life:...
and Adriaen van der Werff
Adriaen van der Werff
Adriaen van der Werff was an accomplished Dutch painter of portraits and erotic, devotional and mythological scenes. His brother, Pieter van der Werff , was his principal pupil and assistant.-Life:...
- could be visited by appointment at his house on Keizersgracht 444, that he had bought in 1822. (The building had previously been inhabited by Thomas Hope, his father Jan Hope
Jan Hope
John Hope , also known as Jan Hope, was the son of Thomas Hope and Margaretha Marcelis, first cousin of Henry Hope, father of Thomas Hope, and a follower of the Scottish Enlightenment, who is best known today for his Groenendaal Park in Heemstede, Netherlands, where he summered from 1767 to his...
and his cousin Henry Hope
Henry Hope
Henry Hope was an Amsterdam merchant banker born in Boston, in Britain's Massachusetts Bay Colony in North America.-Early years:...
.) Adriaan bought works by contemporary painters, including Jan Adam Kruseman, Johannes Christianus Schotel and Barend Cornelis Koekkoek
Barend Cornelis Koekkoek
Koekkoek, Barend Cornelis Dutch landscape artist and father of Johannes Hermanus Barend Koekkoek.-Life:...
.