JACOBUS STORCK (AMSTERDAM 1641-C.1688)

Nijenrode castle was first built in 1270 but centuries of both building campaigns and political upheavals had already left their mark on it when Storck painted this view of the castle in 1676. Nijenrode was ambushed by Bishop Willem van Mechelen in 1311 and in 1481, during the rebellion against Burgundian rule, it was plundered and burned by the citizens of Utrecht. Following its destruction again in 1511, the domain of Nijenrode was inherited by the Barons van den Bongard. It was Bernard van den Bongard III who presided over a major modernisation of the castle between 1632-1642 when it was rebuilt in the Dutch Renaissance style. In 1672 the French used Nijenrode as their headquarters during their invasion of Amsterdam but, upon their retreat the following year, the castle was looted and burned by Swiss mercenaries. In 1675, the year before this view was executed, Nijenrode was acquired by the Amsterdam merchant Johan Ortt (1642-1701), in whose family it remained until the 1780s.