The Reynst Collection, probably the most extensive 17th century collection of art and artefacts, was owned by the Dutch merchants Gerrit Reynst

Gerrit Reynst

Gerrit Reynst was, like his younger brother Jan , a Dutch merchant and art collector from Amsterdam. He was an alderman and member of the town council, entering it in 1646.-The Collection:Gerrit's collection included Italian old-master paintings and antiquities, such as by Johann Liss...

 (also known as Gerard Reynst) and Jan Reynst

Jan Reynst

Jan Reynst was a Protestant Dutch merchant in Amsterdam and, with his elder brother Gerrit, an art collector. In 1625 he went to Venice...

. The collection was put on display in their house at the sign of Hope on the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

. It consisted of over 200 Italian paintings and over 300 sculptures, most of them ancient Roman. There were other antiquities

Antiquities

Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures...

: ten sepulchral monuments, five votive reliefs, nine cinerary urns, "Etruscan" vases, and Christian objects, as well as engraved gems. The collection was dispersed in the 1660s and 1670s, after both brothers had died, and Gerrit's widow sold parts to various buyers.

History of the Collection

In 1625 Jan Reynst became the representative of the family in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 and was known there as Giovanni Reynst. He was impressed by the collections of wealthy Venetians and intended to build one of his own. Because Venice was in decline after trade around the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...

 destroyed their monopoly, many merchants there sold their art collections. Jan Reynst, rather than patiently collecting for years, bought the collection of Andrea Vendramin

Vendramin

The Vendramin were a rich merchant family of Venice, Italy, who were among the case nuove or "new houses" who joined the patrician class when the Libro d'Oro was opened after the battle of Chioggia...

 (1556-1629) from Vendramin's widow. Vendramin had meticulously catalogued his collection in 1627. The items bought from Vendramin's widow, some 230 antiquities

Antiquities

Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures...

, about 140 paintings and curiosities of natural history— a true cabinet of curiosity— were shipped to Amsterdam and would remain the core of the Reynst Collection, though Jan Reynst continued to buy art in Venice.

Put on display in the family house in Amsterdam, the collection stayed largely together for several decades. A visitors list was kept, which includes famous people such as writer Joost van den Vondel

Joost 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...

 and poet Constantijn Huygens

Constantijn Huygens

Constantijn Huygens , was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Christiaan Huygens.-Biography:...

. A statue, supposedly of Cleopatra, was donated to Princess Amalia von Solms after she had shown interest in it when visiting the collection; it was delivered the day before she received a visit from Marie de' Medici

Marie de' Medici

Marie de Médicis , Italian Maria de' Medici, was queen consort of France, as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon. She herself was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici...

, whom it was doubtless intended to impress.

After both the Reynst brothers had died the collection dispersed. In 1660 the first sale took place, when the best pieces (24 paintings and 12 sculptures) were bought by the Dutch Republic for the large amount of 80,000 guilders. This part of the collection would become the Dutch Gift

Dutch Gift

The Dutch Gift of 1660 was a collection of 28 mostly Italian Renaissance paintings and 12 classical sculptures, along with a yacht, the Mary, and furniture, which was presented to King Charles II of England by the States-General of the Netherlands in 1660...

, which mostly remains in the English Royal Collection

Royal Collection

The Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family. It is property of the monarch as sovereign, but is held in trust for her successors and the nation. It contains over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 150,000 old master prints, as well as historical...

, who have 14 of the paintings, with other works now in museums. Three of the antique sculptures escaped the Whitehall fire

Palace of Whitehall

The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones's 1622 Banqueting House was destroyed by fire...

 (1691) because they were installed in the garden behind the Banqueting House

Banqueting House

In Tudor and Early Stuart English architecture a banqueting house is a separate building reached through pleasure gardens from the main residence, whose use is purely for entertaining. It may be raised for additional air or a vista, and it may be richly decorated, but it contains no bedrooms or...

. Other parts of the collection ended up in Germany and with other Dutch collectors. Some antiquities found their way to the Papenbroek Collection

Papenbroek Collection

The Papenbroek Collection is one of the largest 18th century Dutch art collections. After the death of its owner, Gerard van Papenbroek , the majority of the collection was bequeathed to Leiden University...

, and through there to the collection of the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden is the national archaeological museum of the Netherlands. It is located in Leiden. The Museum grew out of the collection of Leiden University and still closely co-operates with its Faculty of Archaeology...

.

Around 1665 to 1670, after the collection was dispersed, engraving

Engraving

Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...

s of some of the best pieces were finally published, the project having been initiated in 1655.