Agnes Block facts for kids
Agneta Block (born October 29, 1629, died April 20, 1704) was a Dutch woman who loved art and plants. She was known for collecting beautiful artworks and for her amazing garden. Agneta is most remembered for putting together special albums filled with paintings of flowers and insects. She was a Mennonite, which is a type of Christian faith.
Her Life Story
Agneta Block was the daughter of a successful textile merchant. In 1649, she married Hans de Wolff, who was a silk merchant. They lived in Amsterdam. After Hans died, she married Sijbrand de Flines in 1674. Agneta lived near a famous Dutch writer named Joost van den Vondel. He often visited her home.
Her Amazing Garden: Vijverhof
After her first husband passed away, Agneta bought a country estate called Vijverhof. It was located on the Vecht river in Loenen. She filled her new home with many interesting items. Her gardens were especially famous for their exotic plants.
Agneta loved to draw and paint with watercolors. Her garden was perfect for this hobby. She is known as an artist who made papercut art and paintings. Sadly, none of her own artworks have survived.
Artists at Vijverhof
To make her plant albums even more beautiful, Agneta hired many talented artists. They would paint the amazing flowers and insects found in her garden. Unfortunately, her entire collection and the garden itself no longer exist. However, researchers have found many original pages from her albums. These pages are now in the collections of other art lovers.
Many artists stayed at Vijverhof to paint for Agneta. Some came from the town of Hoorn, like Alida Withoos and her brother Pieter Withoos. Other painters from Hoorn included Johannes Bronkhorst, Herman Henstenburgh, and Otto Marseus van Schrieck.
Artists from other cities also lived at Vijverhof and contributed to her albums. These included Maria Sibylla Merian and her daughter Johanna Helena Herolts-Graff. Other notable painters were Pieter Holsteyn II, Nicolaas Juweel, Jan Moninckx, Maria Moninckx, Herman Saftleven, Rochus van Veen, Marino Benaglia Venetiano, and Nicolaes de Vree. Agneta Block also regularly wrote letters to other plant experts, like Jan Commelin.
See also
In Spanish: Agnes Block para niños
