Pieter Langendijk
Encyclopedia
Pieter Langendijk was a damask
weaver, city artist, dramatist, and poet.
. His father died when he was young so he and his mother began a textile business. In 1695, they moved to the Hague, then Amsterdam. With jobs in a damask weaving and as an office clerk, Pieter earned enough to support them both.
Around 1708 Pieter took a course in drawing and painting with Frans van Steenwijk. On his 28th birthday his Don Quichot op de Bruiloft van Kamacho appeared. It proved a success and began a permanent run at the Schouwberg of Van Campen. The farces De zwetser and The mutual marriage-deception appeared the next year.
Pieter wrote yet more comedies in the style of Molière
, who he also translated and wrote about. With Hermanus Angelkot
, he wrote Cato, dedicated to the mayor Nicolaes Witsen
. Quincampoix, or the gamblers on the Stock Exchange became very famous, written in the notorious year 1720 that John Law
ruined many investors in Paris. Arlequin Actionist was a commedia dell'arte
farce on the stockjobber
y, one act long, with a real fight, dance and music.
In 1722, he was appointed as city-artist to Haarlem, while his mother meanwhile took to drink. He had a house outside the city, while he could still get out the city. After his mother died, he married a sickly and moody woman who died eleven years later. Pieter wrote only a single tragedy, at the end of his life. In 1747, he had to sell a large part of its books and possessions. Pieter lived in Haarlem's Proveniershuis
, where he was given free accommodation in return for writing a history of the city. The previous description of the city was from 1628, written by Samuel Ampzing
. On his sickbed he wanted to be baptized at home, and "only five days did Pieter survive after this religious performance..."
Pieter wrote five pieces of comparable length, in which symmetry played a role. With exposition, intrigue and crisis, he respected the unities of time, place and action
, using this classicist form to hold a mirror up to the bourgeoisie. Nowhere did the tone become moralizing, but was more a "comedy of manners" (comédies des moeurs), showing the hypocrisy of those in the higher positions (i.e., the higher bourgeoisie or the impoverished middle-classes).
Damask
Damask is a reversible figured fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin weave and the ground in weft-faced or sateen weave...
weaver, city artist, dramatist, and poet.
Life
Pieter was the son of Arend Kort, a mason born in LangedijkLangedijk
Langedijk is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. Langedijk received city rights in 1415.-Population centres :...
. His father died when he was young so he and his mother began a textile business. In 1695, they moved to the Hague, then Amsterdam. With jobs in a damask weaving and as an office clerk, Pieter earned enough to support them both.
Around 1708 Pieter took a course in drawing and painting with Frans van Steenwijk. On his 28th birthday his Don Quichot op de Bruiloft van Kamacho appeared. It proved a success and began a permanent run at the Schouwberg of Van Campen. The farces De zwetser and The mutual marriage-deception appeared the next year.
Pieter wrote yet more comedies in the style of Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
, who he also translated and wrote about. With Hermanus Angelkot
Hermanus Angelkot junior
Hermanus or Hermannus Angelkot Jr. was an Amsterdam pharmacist who also wrote poems and plays. He was the son of Judith Muijsart and Hermanus Angelkot Sr. , who also wrote plays and practised as a pharmacist. The sources are not entirely clear over which was which, but both wrote. Hermanus Jr...
, he wrote Cato, dedicated to the mayor Nicolaes Witsen
Nicolaes Witsen
Nicolaas or Nicolaes Witsen was mayor of Amsterdam thirteen times, between 1682-1706. In 1693 he became administrator of the VOC. In 1689 he was extraordinary-ambassador to the English court, and became Fellow of the Royal Society. In his free time he was cartographer, maritime writer, and an...
. Quincampoix, or the gamblers on the Stock Exchange became very famous, written in the notorious year 1720 that John Law
John Law (economist)
John Law was a Scottish economist who believed that money was only a means of exchange that did not constitute wealth in itself and that national wealth depended on trade...
ruined many investors in Paris. Arlequin Actionist was a commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
farce on the stockjobber
Stockjobber
Stockjobbers were institutions that acted as market makers in the London Stock Exchange. Prior to "Big Bang" in 1986, every stock traded on the Exchange passed through a jobber's book, where they acted as intermediaries between stockbrokers, who were in turn not permitted to be market makers...
y, one act long, with a real fight, dance and music.
In 1722, he was appointed as city-artist to Haarlem, while his mother meanwhile took to drink. He had a house outside the city, while he could still get out the city. After his mother died, he married a sickly and moody woman who died eleven years later. Pieter wrote only a single tragedy, at the end of his life. In 1747, he had to sell a large part of its books and possessions. Pieter lived in Haarlem's Proveniershuis
Proveniershuis
The Proveniershuis is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands.-History:The hofje was founded in 1707 by the city council to house elderly men of low means, called proveniers. The main building is much older than that. The entire site was once a nunnery, called the St...
, where he was given free accommodation in return for writing a history of the city. The previous description of the city was from 1628, written by Samuel Ampzing
Samuel Ampzing
Samuel Ampzing was a Dutch minister, poet and purist.-Biography:Born to the minister Johannes Ampzing in Haarlem, in 1616 Samuel became a minister himself at Rijsoord in Strevelshoek, and in 1619 at the Sint-Bavokerk in Haarlem.-Beschrijvinge ende lof der stad Haerlem in Holland:In 1617, he began...
. On his sickbed he wanted to be baptized at home, and "only five days did Pieter survive after this religious performance..."
Pieter wrote five pieces of comparable length, in which symmetry played a role. With exposition, intrigue and crisis, he respected the unities of time, place and action
Classical unities
The classical unities, Aristotelian unities or three unities are rules for drama derived from a passage in Aristotle's Poetics. In their neoclassical form they are as follows:...
, using this classicist form to hold a mirror up to the bourgeoisie. Nowhere did the tone become moralizing, but was more a "comedy of manners" (comédies des moeurs), showing the hypocrisy of those in the higher positions (i.e., the higher bourgeoisie or the impoverished middle-classes).
Het wederzijds huwelijksbedrog (The Mutual Marriage Deception)
In this comedy, Lodewijk meets Sam Clark. Lodewijk is an aristocrat, in great financial difficulties but acting as if he is a rich Polish count. Clark also comes from the impoverished aristocracy, and also acts as if her situation is more prosperous. Lodewijk has a servant, Jan, and Clark has a maid, Klaar. Jan acts as if he is a baron and tries to win Klaar for himself. Everybody thinks that he they will get married. This 'mutual marriage deception' comes to light when Karel, the brother of Clark, unmasks everybody at the theatre, but the marriages still go ahead, because both couples have fallen in love with each other.De spiegel der vaderlandse kooplieden (The Play of the fatherlands' couples)
This work also holds up a mirror to the audience. Two generations are placed opposite each other: those born in the 17th and 18th centuries. Ernst and Hendrik are conscientious seventeenth-century merchants who, through hard work, gain position. Their sons represent the following, 18th century generations, and are called Lichthart (light heart), husband to Kwistgoed, and Losbol (loose-liver), husband of Zoetje. They waste all the money that their fathers have made and the whole family fortune is lost.External links
Works
- Spiegel der Vaderlandsche Kooplieden door Pieter Langendijk. Waar agter gevoegd is het Leeven van den Dichter. Uitgegeven met inleiding en aantekeningen door dr. G.A. van Es, (1979)