How a merchant changed the city, an exhibition in the Amsterdam Museum.

Without the nineteenth-century businessman and philanthropist Piet van Eeghen, the city would have looked very different. As the founder of the Vondelpark and the Prinsengracht Hospital and through housing initiatives, he left his mark on the city.

Benefactor, art collector and banker
The Vondelpark, Prinsengracht Hospital, National Museum and the Municipal Museum: they all date from the 19th century. Just like the first social housing. They all start as a ‘citizen initiative’. Not founded by the city council, but by private individuals who arrange everything themselves and provide the financing. Behind the scenes of these projects is one central figure: the enthusiastic businessman Christiaan Pieter van Eeghen (1816-1889). Together with his wife Cato Huidekoper, he was one of the richest Amsterdammers of his time. With all that money and his enormous network, Van Eeghen plays a crucial role in the modernization of Amsterdam, thanks to his successful citizen initiatives.

Romantic paintings
Van Eeghen is also a great art lover. His house on the Herengracht is full of contemporary, romantic paintings. He also has a unique collection of prints and drawings by Jan and Caspar Luyken (17th/18th century). After his death, he donated almost all these works of art to the city. They now belong to the collection of the Amsterdam Museum, such as the painting Children of the Sea by Jozef Israëls from 1863.

The exhibition in the Amsterdam Museum focuses on Van Eeghen as an Amsterdam benefactor, art collector and banker. He earned his money through colonial trade, among other things. What does that mean for our contemporary view of his philanthropic work? And what roles did women play in all his activities?

Piet van Eeghen’s Amsterdam, until June 30, Amsterdam Museum, Amstel 51