Life
He was the oldest son of Pieter de Graeff and Jacoba Bicker, his elder brother was Cornelis de Graeff II., Baron of Purmerland and Ilpendam, and De Graeffs younger sister Agneta de Graeff, who married to Jan Baptiste de Hochepied, lives in a City-Palace today called Kabinet der Koningin.
After his studies at the University of Leiden in the year 1699, he became an advisor and from 1709 to 1714 a member of the vroedschap of the City of Amsterdam.
De Graeff residence at the Herengracht in a house now called Tassenmuseum Hendrikje, at castle Ilpenstein and at Bronstee, a Countryhouse near Heemstede.
In the year 1709 Johan married Johanna Hooft, they had five children:
- Jacoba Adriana de Graeff (1710–1745), married to Mr. Jacob Jan de Blocq van Kuffeler
- Gerrit de Graeff I (1711–1752), married to Maria Elisabeth Sautijn and later with Elisabeth Lestevenon; Gerrit succeeded his as Lord of Zuid-Polsbroek.
- Alida Joanna de Graeff (1713–1757), married with Mr. François de Witt.
Johan de Graeff has a big art collection including paintings from Rembrandt van Rijn, Gerard Ter Borch and Jacob van Ruisdael. The collection know three very famous pictures, Catharina Hooft with her Nurse, painted by Frans Hals, Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph and Portrait of Andries de Graeff, both from Rembrandt.
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Famous quotes containing the word life:
“It is no small mischief to a boy, that many of the best years of his life should be devoted to the learning of what can never be of any real use to any human being. His mind is necessarily rendered frivolous and superficial by the long habit of attaching importance to words instead of things; to sound instead of sense.”
—William Cobbett (1762–1835)
“we are laid asleep
In body, and become a living soul:
While with an eye made quiet by the power
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We see into the life of things.”
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“The child begins life as a pleasure-seeking animal; his infantile personality is organized around his own appetites and his own body. In the course of his rearing the goal of exclusive pleasure seeking must be modified drastically, the fundamental urges must be subject to the dictates of conscience and society, urges must be capable of postponement and in some instances of renunciation completely.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)