Wealthy Dutch citizens, who built their fortunes during the prosperous long century of the Dutch Golden Age, escaped cramped city living on Amsterdam’s canals by decamping to the country to spend the summer season in large, airy rural estates. The current exhibition Naar Buiten! Stedelingen en hun buitenplaatsen (To the Outdoors! Townsfolk and their Country Estates) on at the Museum Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis in Amsterdam explores the lives of these families and their country manors from the seventeenth century to the present day.  

During the Golden Age, Amsterdam experienced a great boom in population, growing from 30,000 in the 1590s to 200,000 in the 1670s. As the city became more crowded and its citizens became wealthier through trade and industry, there was a palpable desire to avoid the city, especially during the warmer months. As explained in the exhibition, the city could become quite malodorous during the summer months as sewage was disposed of in the canals. The country was viewed as an escape where one could take in fresh air and sun, which benefited the health. Those who could afford to vacate the city purchased land and country estates usually along the Amstel, the Gain, and the Vecht. Most houses were only about a day’s journey away from Amsterdam.  

The country estates not only provided refuge from the suffocating summers in Amsterdam, but also later became symbols of wealth and power. During the early years of the seventeenth century, individuals invested in the lucrative land reclamation projects in the areas surrounding Amsterdam (for example, the Beemster). They built houses near the polders in order to be close to their investments and because they could afford more luxurious accommodations. The most prominent families, mainly from Amsterdam, but also from Haarlem and The Hague, such as the Huydecopers, Hinlopens, and Bickers (to name just a few) could create physical expressions of their success. Sightseeing tour boats even took passengers along the rivers to view the large and impressive villas. The interiors of these homes were just as impressive as the exteriors.  

The bulk of the exhibition is dedicated to presenting the luxury and opulence with which families were surrounded in their country manors. Homes were decorated with paintings of still-lifes, portraits of the families, as well as ‘portraits’ of the houses themselves. One particularly beautiful example in the exhibition is Jan van der Heyden’s painting of the Elswout estate in Overveen (c. 1660, loan from Frans Hals Museum), with a bird’s-eye view of the house and its surrounding grounds. Van der Heyden specialized in architectural painting and landscapes. Wealthy individuals also filled their homes with other décor such as elaborate ceramics and glassware, most of which was for show, not for everyday use. An especially rich example of glasswork from the hand of Jonas Zeuner depicts the Soelen castle in Gelderland in monochromatic tones (1775, loan from Amsterdam Museum). The curators have also highlighted curious objects such as ornate ceramic tiles, small-scale sculptures, and handheld decorative fans that could be found in country villas.  

The lifestyle pursued at country estates was another way in which prosperous families enjoyed their wealth and established their social status. Vincent Laurensz. (II) van der Vinne’s painting of the garden at the Proveniershuis in Haarlem (1730-1740, loan from the Rijksmuseum Twenthe) for instance depicts a clear dichotomy between those who live in the home and the manual labourers who tend the garden. Homes and their surrounding gardens were viewed as a personal ‘Arcadia’, a paradise on Earth. Gardens were decorated nearly as well as interiors and there are several attractive garden sculptures to be seen in this exhibition. Families indulged in leisure activities, though this does not mean the manor lifestyle was devoid of strict custom and ritual. The upper crust of society entertained guests in the garden with tea breaks, games, music, and by going for strolls on the estate’s grounds.  The grounds were also used for hunting, another of the privileges of the upper classes.  

During the course of the nineteenth century, many families were forced to sell their country homes because they were no longer able to care for such large manors. A significant number of these magnificent houses are now managed by the three largest Dutch organisations for the preservation of nature and land – Staatsbosbeheer, Natuurmonumenten and De 12 Landschappen en Beeckestijn Podium voor Tuin- en LandschapsCultuur (all of which collaborated with the museum on this exhibition). The final room of the exhibition emphasises the conservation work of these organisations with wonderful contemporary photographs of historic estates.  

Though a sufficient amount of explanatory information was available to the viewer on the nature of the exhibition and on some of the objects included, regrettably this information was not translated into English. This may well be explained by the fact that the exhibition is especially Dutch-focused and that the families and their homes may not be very well known, if at all, to foreign viewers. However, this unfortunately does make the exhibition rather inaccessible to outside visitors.  

‘Naar Buiten! Stedelingen en hun buitenplaatsen’ is at the Museum Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis, Amsterdam from 11 July 2012 to 4 February 2013.