This Master Thesis is written for the master Arts and Culture at Leiden University, with the specialization Early Modern and Medieval Art. In 2013, the canals of Amster-dam celebrated their 400th...Show moreThis Master Thesis is written for the master Arts and Culture at Leiden University, with the specialization Early Modern and Medieval Art. In 2013, the canals of Amster-dam celebrated their 400th birthday, a fact that inspired several authors in publishing books on this subject, most of them discussing several houses on the canals. This Thesis focuses on one canal house in Amsterdam, with address Amstel 218. This specific canal house is nowadays the location of one of Holland's largest and most important private art collections, the Six Collection. This collection has been located on Amstel 218 since 1915, and this study handles the period before this time. The chosen period is 1665-1800, from the moment the house was built until the end of the eighteenth century. This focus on the eighteenth century derives from, first of all, the fact that the Dutch seventeenth century or Golden Age has been rewarded much more attention in the existing (art)historical literature. Next to this, in the literature that does focus on the eighteenth century, a strong opinion is visible deeming this century less interesting from cultural historical viewpoint than its predecessor. This Thesis aims to bring focus to this period and hopefully uncover the lives of the people that owned a canal house in Amsterdam. The aim is to find out who lived in such a house, and to complete the face of these people, questions are asked such as: what did these people do professionally, were they born in a rich milieu or were they self made rich? What did their social surrounding look like, both professionally and in terms of family and friends and what were their interests, what did they do for recreation and education. To answer these questions, original eighteenth century archival documents are investigated to see what these home-owners did and what possessions they had. The goal of this Thesis is to give a face to these people, and see how the studied per-sons fit into the view that exists in current literature on the eighteenth century. This study will be carried out with the help from terms as formulated by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. These three terms are introduced in his book 'Distinction', that mainly deals with the topic of social stratification. The formulated terms are social, cultural and economic capital and are important in distinguishing a persons personal properties on a social, cultural and economical level. Abbreviated, social capital consists of the entire social network that a person has, both professionally and personally. Cultural capital is the collection of ones educational properties, together with for instance musical or creative talents, or the ability to speak different languages. Economic capital is the entire concrete possession of money, property and other goods or affairs that can instantly be translated into monetary value. These three terms are inextricably connected, because the growth in one specific area can influence that of the others. For example, expansion of economic capital can provide the owner with more social status. The other way around, social status or connections can provide jobs or other financial support and thus influence the economic capital. The first chapter elaborated these terms further, as well as it discussed Bourdieus influence on (art)historical literature. It also discussed the work of histori-ans Maarten Prak and Thera Wijsenbeek-Olthuis, whose literature on the Dutch eighteenth century is very important in this Thesis’ aim to draw an image of the lives of people in this period. ` The second chapter discussed the house itself and the entire history of its inhabitants. Amstel 218 was built in circa 1665, and archival documents show who owned the house from that day until today. As well as the history of the inhabitants, the chapter discussed all known architectural adjustments that the house has seen through the ages. This chapter unveiled that there were large differences in the duration of the ownership. Some owners stayed for six years, while others could last for thirty. In terms of the architectural history of the house, the extent to which the owners made adjustments to the house also differed greatly. The third chapter presented all the information found in archival documents, per owner. It discussed marriage, children, professional functions and religion of these owners, all discovered in original sources. Differences became clear in all aspects. While everyone got married, some families remained childless where others had five children. Amongst the owners were roman-catholics, Calvinists and a Baptist. The chapter discussed what these religious viewpoints meant at the time, as well as what their jobs represented. Several of the inhabitants were merchants, others had functions with the VOC and one of them worked as an auctioneer. This chapter also reviewed the information about their financial situation, derived from testaments or other financial documents. The fourth chapter discussed the lives of these people in their social historical context, guided by Bourdieus terms. In this chapter, it becomes clear that these people are exemplary of the social historical context, as formulated by different historians. The eighteenth century was defined by interest in science, a great divide between the poor and the rich, a longing for peace and quiet outside of the city and a great care for the exposition of status. Based on the original sources is concluded that these owners probably suited their time. This Thesis has tried to sketch an image of the lives of the people that lived in a grand canal house in Amsterdam, in the eighteenth century. Based on archival documents, we have learned what these people did for a living, what their social net-work could look like and what they had in terms of possessions. Although these people came from different social standings, they all owned the same house at some point. The sources disclosed that these people had more in common than just the house, for they shared some of the same interests and possessions, such as almoner ship, literature, religion, a love for the countryside and, most of all, the tendency to show off their social, cultural and economical status.Show less
