VR

Valerius de Röver / de Reuver jr. (1686-1739). Foremost burgher, married 1709 to Cornelia van der Dussen. They lived at west side of Oude Delft next to Prinsenhof, possibly number 173; also had property east side of Voorstraat and owned an outstanding "kunstkabinet" (art collection cabinet) which may have been collected by his father , Valerius Röver sr. (16xx-1693). The 161 paintings in these categories: 36 History, 27 Landscape, 11 Architecture, 6 Marine, 30 genre, 12 Still life, 27 Portrait, 12 Various. There were five paintings by Frans Hals. In 1750 the cream of this excellent collection, 62 paintings including 8 by Rembrandt, were purchased by Prince Wilhelm VIII von Hessen-Kassel, from 1730 onwards titled Landgraf Wilhelm VIII for 40,000 guilders.

The top Rembrandt painting was subsequently purchased for 475,000 guilders by Tsar Alexander I for the Hermitage.

Wilhelm had lived in the Republic for a while ; there he had befriended Govert van Slingelandt, a collector from The Hague who advised him to purchase this outstanding Delft collection.

Note. Boitet 1729 p. 790. GAD Huizenprotocol III 870 (Oude Delft) and III 739 (Voorstraat). GAD internet OK inv 49. Categories in Moes, Oud Holland 1913, 4-24 and H. Domen, Exh.Cat. De Stad Delft 1982, p. 131 and Houtzager, Delfia Batavorum 1993, p. 52.GAD Koopbrieven Huizeneigenaren. Peter C. Sutton, 'A Brief History of the Collecting of Dutch Landscapes' in The Hoogsteder Exhibition of Dutch Landscapes, The Hague and Zwolle, 1991.

This page forms part of a large encyclopedic site on Delft. Research by Drs. Kees Kaldenbach (email). A full presentation is on view at johannesvermeer.info.

Launched 16 February 2005; Last update March 1, 2017. More info in the RKD site.