Period rooms and building
Our beautiful canal house from 1665 still contains original elements from the time it was completed, as well as from the centuries that followed. During your visit, you will encounter the history of the house, from the seventeenth century to the present day.
Residents and architect of the building
Our building, at Herengracht 386, was once commissioned by the wealthy merchant Karel Gerards. He assigned Philip Vingboons to design and build the house in 1663. Vingboons was one of the most influential architects of the seventeenth century. He also designed the famous Cromhout houses a little further down the Herengracht.
Philips Vingboons
Philips Vingboons was the son of Flemish painter David Vingboons, who moved to the Netherlands as a child with his parents due to the besiegement of Mechelen by the Spaniards. He built a life in Amsterdam, and had ten children there, including Philips. Almost everyone in the family did something in art, and Philips was no exception. He too wanted to become a painter before he, like two of his brothers, turned to architecture. He had a very successful career in which he would design many buildings – mostly in a recognizable classicist style – on Amsterdam’s canals and beyond. His most famous work is the design of the Amsterdam neck gable, which can also be admired on the Cromhout Houses.
Residents
After the death of Karel Gerards, this building has been the home of many merchants, mayors and bankers, including Jan Willink. Willink, who bought the house in the 18th century, was a co-financier of the War of Independence in the United States. He and two of his colleagues lent money to John Adams, who would later become the second president of the US.
From house to museum
Herengracht 386 has been renovated many times over the centuries. The last renovations took place in 2010, when the museum was set up for its opening in 2012. Then, in 2022, the silent garden was constructed.
Read more about the Andriessen Room
This room is named after the creator of the murals: Jurriaan Andriessen (1742-1819), an Amsterdam born painter with German parents. Andriessen made many wallpaper designs in his lifetime and also painted sets for the Stadsschouwburg (city theatre). He was a true decorative painter, which can also be seen in this room. When you enter the room, you find yourself in a wonderfully idyllic landscape with all possible romantic ingredients. Here you can see a country road, animals, a ruin, a bridge over a still water and, of course, an abundance of plants and trees. Not surprisingly, this room was conceived as a ‘garden room’ – having a view over the real garden.
Andriessen painted this scene in 1776, but likely not for this room. It was probably initially made for the larger period room. This can also be seen in the painting itself: some details seem to have been cut off and some treetops are missing. In addition, the painted shadows are not in line with the sun’s light. In a painting made for a specific room, this would normally be the case.
Relocated mural
The mural was probably moved during a renovation in the second half of the nineteenth century. The corridor, which originally ran from the front door to the garden, was shortened, and this room was created. That became the designated space for the mural. We do not know how it got moved from its original spot to the current place – it was undoubtedly a complex job.
Painted ceiling
Another remarkable painting can be found in this room: the ceiling painting made by French artist Pascal Amblard. At first glance, it may look like an 18th-century work, but it was painted in 2022. Amblard was inspired by the history of Amsterdam and how people of different cultures and faiths live together. The dreaming young man you see by the fireplace is the focal point: he is dreaming about all the other figures.
Discoveries
The floor in this room was laid towards the end of the nineteenth century. This is easy to see from the planks: they are all the same width and made of the same wood. They were discovered during the renovation of 2010, when the parquet floor was removed. An examination of the paint layers on the wall also revealed what colour paint was on the walls in between the wall paintings in the eighteenth century.
The period rooms: front and back
The rooms on the ground floor are period rooms. They were used for special and official occasions. In addition, they were meant to reflect and support the status of the 17th-century owner.
19th-century discovery
During the renovation of 2010, the two period rooms were restored in nineteenth-century style, but seventeenth-century elements can still be found. In the back room, this is the coffered ceiling (with the large rectangular sections). Furthermore, a ‘false door’ can still be found in the front hall. This is a door that more or less disappears into the wall. Such doors were often installed across from ‘real’ doors in order to achieve symmetry in the building.
Gold
The choice was made to renovate the rooms in the nineteenth-century Empire style. This was chosen because a floor from that era was discovered in the back room. In the process, original wall coverings were also found. These inspired the design of the current wall coverings and curtains – all in the style popular during the time of Napoleon. You can recognize it by the use of rich fabrics and lots of gold. To restore the gold leaf to its original state, exactly 1 kilogram of gold was used.
