1.
Amsterdam
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Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, during that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
2.
Theo van Gogh (art dealer)
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Theodorus Theo van Gogh was a Dutch art dealer. He was the brother of Vincent van Gogh, and Theos unfailing financial and emotional support allowed his brother to devote himself entirely to painting. Theo died at the age of 33, six months after his brother died at the age of 37, Theodorus Theo van Gogh was born on 1 May 1857 in the village Groot-Zundert in the province of North Brabant, Netherlands. He was the son of Theodorus van Gogh and Anna Cornelia Carbentus and his elder brother was Vincent van Gogh, who later became a famous painter. Theo worked for years at the Dutch office of the Parisian art dealers Goupil & Cie in The Hague. Theo joined the Brussels office on 1 January 1873 as their youngest employee, after Theo was transferred to the London office, he moved to the office in The Hague, where he developed into a successful art dealer. By 1884, he was transferred to the Paris main office, starting in the winter of 1880–1881, he sent painting materials as well as monthly financial support to his brother and painter Vincent van Gogh, who was living back in the Netherlands. In Paris, Theo met Andries Bonger and his sister Johanna and he married Johanna in Amsterdam on 17 April 1889 and they moved to Paris. Their son Vincent Willem was born in Paris on 31 January 1890, on 8 June, the family visited Vincent, who was living near Paris in Auvers-sur-Oise. Vincent died in July 1890 at age 37, Theo suffered from dementia paralytica, an infection of the brain, and his health declined rapidly after Vincents death. Weak and unable to come to terms with Vincents absence, he died six months later at age 33 in Den Dolder, Theo admired his elder brother Vincent for his whole life. But communicating with him proved to be difficult, even before Vincent opted to follow his artistic vocation, the communication between both brothers suffered from diverging definitions of standards, and it was evidently Theo who kept on writing letters. Therefore, mostly Vincents answers survived and few of Theos, Theo was often concerned about Vincents mental condition and he was amongst the few who understood his brother. It is known that Theo helped Vincent to maintain his artist lifestyle by giving him money and he also helped Vincent pursue his life as an artist through his unwavering emotional support and love. The majority of Theo’s letters and communications with Vincent are filled with praise, Vincent would send Theo sketches and ideas for paintings, along with accounts of his day to day experiences, to the delight and eager attention of Theo. Theo was instrumental in the popularity of Impressionist artists such as Claude Monet and Edgar Degas by persuading his employers, Goupil & Cie, to exhibit and buy their works. In 1886, Theo invited Vincent to come and live with him in Paris, the two brothers maintained an intensive correspondence, with Theo often encouraging his depressed brother. Theo was one of the few people who Vincent could talk to, over three-quarters of the more than 800 letters Vincent wrote during his life were to Theo, including his first and his last letters
3.
Vincent van Gogh
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Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings and his suicide at 37 followed years of mental illness and poverty. Born into a family, Van Gogh drew as a child and was serious, quiet. As a young man he worked as an art dealer, often travelling and he turned to religion, and spent time as a Protestant missionary in southern Belgium. He drifted in ill health and solitude before taking up painting in 1881 and his younger brother Theo supported him financially, and the two kept up a long correspondence by letter. His early works, mostly still lifes and depictions of peasant labourers, in 1886 he moved to Paris, where he met members of the avant-garde, including Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were reacting against the Impressionist sensibility. As his work developed he created a new approach to still lifes and his paintings grew brighter in colour as he developed a style that became fully realised during his stay in Arles in the south of France in 1888. During this period he broadened his subject matter to include trees, cypresses, wheat fields. Van Gogh suffered from episodes and delusions and though he worried about his mental stability, he often neglected his physical health, did not eat properly. His friendship with Gauguin ended after a confrontation with a razor and he spent time in psychiatric hospitals, including a period at Saint-Rémy. After he discharged himself and moved to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris and his depression continued and on 27 July 1890, Van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a revolver. He died from his injuries two days later, Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and was considered a madman and a failure. He became famous after his suicide, and exists in the imagination as the quintessential misunderstood genius. His reputation began to grow in the early 20th century as elements of his style came to be incorporated by the Fauves. The most comprehensive source on Van Gogh is the correspondence between him and his younger brother, Theo. Their lifelong friendship, and most of what is known of Vincents thoughts, Theo van Gogh was an art dealer and provided his brother with financial and emotional support, and access to influential people on the contemporary art scene. Theo kept all of Vincents letters to him, Vincent kept few of the letters he received, after both had died, Theos widow Johanna arranged for the publication of some of their letters. A few appeared in 1906 and 1913, the majority were published in 1914, Vincents letters are eloquent and expressive and have been described as having a diary-like intimacy, and read in parts like autobiography
4.
Art dealer
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An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art. Art dealers professional associations serve to set standards for accreditation or membership and to support art exhibitions. An art dealer typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationships with collectors, some dealers are able to anticipate market trends, while some prominent dealers may be able to influence the taste of the market. Many dealers specialize in a style, period, or region. They often travel internationally, frequenting exhibitions, auctions, and artists studios looking for good buys, little-known treasures, when dealers buy works of art, they resell them either in their galleries or directly to collectors. Those who deal in art usually exhibit artists works in their galleries. Art dealers often study the history of art before entering on their careers, related careers that often cross-over include curators of museums and art auction firms are industry-related careers. Gallery owners who do not succeed may seek to work for more successful galleries, others pursue careers as art critics, academics, curators of museums or auction houses, or practicing artists. Dealers have to understand the business side of the art world and they keep up with trends in the market and are knowledgeable about the style of art people want to buy. They figure out how much they should pay for a piece and they are also often passionate and knowledgeable about art. Those who deal with contemporary art promote new artists, creating a market for the artists works, the art world is subject to economic booms and bust just like any other market. Art dealers must be economically conscious in order to maintain their livelihoods, the mark ups of art work must be carefully monitored. If prices and profits are too large, then investments may be devalued should an overstock or economic downturn occur, to determine an artworks value, dealers inspect the objects or paintings closely, and compare the fine details with similar pieces. Some dealers with many years of experience learn to identify unsigned works by examining stylistic features such as strokes, color. They recognize the styles of different periods and individual artists, often art dealers are able to distinguish authentic works from forgeries. Guillam Forchondt the Elder A 17th century Flemish Baroque painter and art based in Antwerp. He established an important art dealing business with international connections in Europe maintained by his extended family and he originally trained as a painter and cabinet maker but built a reputation through his international art business. At one point, the Brothers Forchondt had 60 painters in service for export to France, Austria, Spain, matthijs Musson A painter and art dealer based in Antwerp, who helped popularize artists of the 17th century Antwerp school by marketing them throughout Europe
5.
Multatuli
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Eduard Douwes Dekker, better known by his pen name Multatuli, was a Dutch writer famous for his satirical novel Max Havelaar, which denounced the abuses of colonialism in the Dutch East Indies. Douwes Dekker was born in Amsterdam and his father was a ships captain and intended for his son to have a career in trade. This humdrum prospect disgusted Douwes Dekker and in 1838 he obtained a post as a servant on the island of Java. In 1857 he was transferred to Lebak, in the Bantam residency of Java, by this time, however, all the secrets of Dutch administration were known to him, and he had begun to openly protest about the abuses of the colonial system. Consequently, he was threatened with dismissal from his office for his openness of speech, Douwes Dekker resigned his appointment and returned to the Netherlands. He was determined to expose in detail the scandals he had witnessed, little notice, however, was taken of his protestations until, in 1860, he published his novel Max Havelaar under the pseudonym of Multatuli. An attempt was made to suppress the book, but in vain. Apologists for colonialism accused Douwes Dekkers horrific depictions of being exaggerated, Multatuli now began his literary career, and published Love Letters, which, in spite of their mild title, were mordant, unsparing satires. Although Multatulis work was criticized as lacking literary merit, he received an unexpected. He continued to write prolifically and to publish his miscellanies in uniform volumes called Ideas, Douwes Dekker left the Netherlands, and went to live in Ingelheim am Rhein near Mainz, where he made several attempts to write for the stage. One of his pieces, The School for Princes, expresses his non-conformist views on politics, society and he moved his residence to Nieder Ingelheim, on the Rhine, where he died in 1887. Douwes Dekker was one of Sigmund Freuds favorite writers and he heads the list of ten good books which Freud drew up in 1907. In June 2002, the Dutch Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde proclaimed Multatuli the most important Dutch writer of all time, Multatulis brother, Jan Douwes Dekker, was the grandfather of Ernest Douwes Dekker. Douwes is commonly thought, wrongly, to be his middle name, Douwes Dekker is the combined form of both of his grandparents last names, chosen after they couldnt decide which of their names they should give him. Tooneelspel in vijf bedrijven 1865 - Bloemlezing door Multatuli, Amsterdam, funke 1887 - Onafgewerkte blaadjes 1891 - Aleid. Twee fragmenten uit een onafgewerkt blyspel 1880 - De geschiedenis van Woutertje Pieterse, bijdragen tot de kennis van zijn leven. Gerangschikt en toegelicht door M. Douwes Dekker geb, hamminck Schepel,10 delen, Amsterdam, W. Versluys 1905 - Multatuli, Frauenbrevier, Anthology and translation to German by Wilhelm Spohr. Ruetten & Loening, Frankfurt am Main, DM55, lijst der geschriften van en over Eduard Douwes Dekker 1949 - Max Havelaar, according to the manuscript, by Prof. Dr. Garmt Stuiveling, Amsterdam, G. A. van Oorschot
6.
Elburg
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Elburg is a municipality and a city in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. There is evidence of a Neolithic settlement at Elburg consisting of stone tools, from Roman times there are names and shards of earthenware which suggest that there was an army camp at the site of Elburg. This rapid rebuilding was expensive, indicating that Elburg was reasonably affluent in medieval times, several records of Elburg date back to the 14th century. Elburg was granted status by Earl Jan van Geel early in the century. There is a record that Elburg got its fishing right granted in 1313, in 1367 the city was recorded as a member of the Hanseatic League. Throughout the centuries, Elburgh remained a fishing and farming center until the end of World War II, unlike many other Dutch towns, Elburg had refused to use city funds to build a railroad station in 1863. Because the land owners were asking unreasonably high prices for the right of way over their property, as a consequence, Elburg became less attractive for manufacturers compared with neighboring places like Harderwijk. In addition, the closing off of the Zuiderzee in 1932 meant an end to the industry of Elburg. Therefore, since 1956, the city concluded that only tourism would be the most viable sector for the local economy, because of its favourable position both on the edge of the canal and near the Veluwemeer, tourists have made it a popular tourist destination. Each year many visit to see the largely unchanged medieval town, especially during the Midweekfeesten, Botterdagen and Kerst in de Vesting, which attract more than 30,000 visitors each year
7.
Utrecht
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Utrecht is the capital and most populous city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the corner of the Randstad conurbation and is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands with a population of 330,772 in 2014. Utrechts ancient city centre features many buildings and structures several dating as far back as the High Middle Ages and it has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century. It lost the status of prince-bishopric but remains the religious center in the country. Utrecht was the most important city in the Netherlands until the Dutch Golden Age, Utrecht is host to Utrecht University, the largest university in the Netherlands, as well as several other institutions of higher education. Due to its position within the country, it is an important transport hub for both rail and road transport. It has the second highest number of events in the Netherlands. In 2012, Lonely Planet included Utrecht in the top 10 of the world’s unsung places, a series of such fortresses was built after the Roman emperor Claudius decided the empire should not expand north. To consolidate the border the limes Germanicus defense line was constructed along the branch of the river Rhine. These fortresses were designed to house a cohort of about 500 Roman soldiers, near the fort settlements would grow housing artisans, traders and soldiers wives and children. In Roman times, the name of the Utrecht fortress was simply Traiectum, Traiectum became Dutch Trecht, with the U from Old Dutch uut added to distinguish U-trecht from Maas-tricht. In 11th-century official documents it was Latinized as Ultra Traiectum, around the year 200, the wooden walls of the fortification were replaced by sturdier tuff stone walls, remnants of which are still to be found below the buildings around Dom Square. From the middle of the 3rd century Germanic tribes regularly invaded the Roman territories, around 275 the Romans could no longer maintain the northern border and Utrecht was abandoned. Little is known about the next period 270–650, Utrecht is first spoken of again several centuries after the Romans left. Under the influence of the realms of the Franks, during Dagobert Is reign in the 7th century. In ongoing border conflicts with the Frisians this first church was destroyed, by the mid-7th century, English and Irish missionaries set out to convert the Frisians. The pope appointed their leader, Willibrordus, bishop of the Frisians, the tenure of Willibrordus is generally considered to be the beginning of the Bishopric of Utrecht. In 723, the Frankish leader Charles Martel bestowed the fortress in Utrecht, from then on Utrecht became one of the most influential seats of power for the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands
8.
Andries Bonger
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Andries Bonger, nicknamed Dries, was Johanna van Gogh-Bongers favorite brother. Bonger was a friend of his future brother-in-law Theo van Gogh in Paris and it was through Andries that Johanna and Theo met. He also knew Vincent van Gogh who called him André in letters and he mentioned that Van Gogh was not very strong, and so this was a very melancholy circumstance. In several letters over the remainder of the year, Bonger comments on an appreciation for. Vincent van Gogh arrived in Paris in 1886 which meant that Bonger saw less of Theo, Bonger expressed his concern that Vincent van Gogh was harsh with his brother Theo, who had begun to look haggard. Theo met Bongers parents during a visit to the Netherlands about August,1886, Bonger went into the insurance business later in Amsterdam. He was a friend of Bertrand-Jean Redon, better known as Odilon Redon. His collection also included works by Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne and Émile Bernard and he is buried at Zorgvlied cemetery
9.
Bussum
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Bussum is a commuter town and former municipality in the Het Gooi region in the south east of the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. Since 2016, Bussum has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Meren, Bussum had a population of 32,731 in 2014 and covered an area of 8.15 km2. For a long time Bussum was not more than a hamlet situated amongst the heathlands of Het Gooi and was first mentioned in 1306, in this time, Bussum was a large heathland with many small farms, sheep pens and forests as is shown on old maps. Since Bussum is situated near the fortified town Naarden it was governed by Naarden from 1369 onward, in 1470 Bussum was inhabited by about 250 people, which made it the smallest village in Het Gooi. Bussum became independent from Naarden in 1817, yet it was not until the arrival of a line in 1874 that Bussum began to flourish. Two train stations were built in the town, that still exist today, Naarden-Bussum and Bussum Zuid, the stations and the road network fostered the towns status as a satellite town of Amsterdam, allowing for reverse commute also to Hilversum. From 1898 until 1907, Bussum housed the first Dutch socialist colony after the example of Thoreaus Walden, set up by the writer, in 1951, Bussum hosted the first Dutch national TV broadcast and the national TV studios were located there until 1964. Bussum was set to merge with the municipalities of Naarden and Muiden on 1 January 2016. In October 2014, the town councils chose the name Gooise Meren for the new municipality. Media related to Bussum at Wikimedia Commons Bussum travel guide from Wikivoyage Official website A view on the old town of Bussum
10.
Auvers-sur-Oise
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Auvers-sur-Oise is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 27.2 km from the centre of Paris and it is associated with several famous artists, the most prominent being Vincent van Gogh. Daubignys house is now a museum where one can see paintings by the artist, his family, if you walk along the river from Auvers toward Pontoise you can see a number of views which figured in the paintings of Pissarro. During the 20th century artists continued to frequent Auvers, including Henri Rousseau, Otto Freundlich, the COBRA artist Corneille spent his last years in the village and is buried a few meters from Vincent van Gogh. On 1 August 1948, 17% of the territory of Auvers-sur-Oise was detached, Dr. Paul Gachet lived in Auvers-sur-Oise. He was acquainted with the artists of the time. Through this connection, Vincent van Gogh moved to Auvers to be treated by him, Gachet befriended Van Gogh and was the subject of two portraits, one of which, Portrait of Dr. Gachet, was sold at auction for over $80m in 1990. Van Gogh died by a gunshot to the chest, the room on the upper floor of the Auberge Ravoux where he died has been preserved, although no furniture remains. Auvers-sur-Oise is the resting place of both Vincent and his brother Theo van Gogh, who died six months later. Auvers-sur-Oise in art Auvers-sur-Oise is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris – Nord suburban rail line, Chaponval and Auvers-sur-Oise. Communes of the Val-dOise department Auvers during the time of Vincent van Gogh INSEE Association of Mayors of the Val d’Oise Official website The Complete Works of Vincent van Gogh
