| Commentary | Christina van Steenkiste, the wife of Lucas van Beeck, was the daughter of Pieter van Steenkiste, from Meenen (c.1560-1630) and of Janneken de Caerle, from Ypres (who died in Haarlem in 1642). The family of Van Steenkiste was from Haarlem, that of her husband from Amsterdam. Her sister Maijcken was married to Hendrick van Beeck, the brother of Lucas van Beeck. Her other sister Catalijntge was married to Jan van Beeck. The biographical information on the Steenkiste and Van Beeck families, as well as the inventories of Maijcken van Beeck and Christina van Beeck (in her domain near Haarlem), are drawn from Pieter Biesboer (Netherlandish Inventories I, Collections of Paintings in Haarlem 1572-1645, The Provenance Index of The Getty Research Institute, 2001, pp. 216-7). Lucas van Beeck (Emmerich 1602-Amsterdam 1652), a merchant, was in business with Lucas de Clercq (Haarlem 1603-Haarlem 1652), who in turn was married to Feijntje van Steenkiste (Haarlem c.1603-Haarlem 1640). Van Beeck and De Clercq jointly owned the manor (hoofstede) Clercq en Beeck in Bloemendael near Haarlem. According to Biesboer (op.cit., p.63), Lucas de Clercq was the brother of Jacques de Clercq (probably of R 20311 of Montias2). Lucas de Clercq seems to have married three times. He was portrayed, probably by Pieter de Grebber, with his second wife Adriaantje de Keyser whom he married on 6 October 1645, shortly after his marriage (Blankert, Historisch Museum, p. 127). Feijntje van Steenkiste was presumably his third wife. Lucas van Beeck and Christina van Steenkiste lived most of the year in their town house in Amsterdam. After Christina's death, an inventory of the Haarlem hoofstede was taken by a Haarlem notary on 24 November 1669 (a few days before the present inventory). It contained a painting by Van Campen (een luijtslager, estimated 10 f.); Goltzius (een stuck van Mercurius ende Venus estimated 30 f.); a dark moonshine by Aert van der Neer, estimated 10 f.; a landscape by Evert Marseus van Schriek, estimated 4 f.; a trony by Reyer Jacobsz., estimated 1.25 f.; two paintings by Herman Hals, estimated 4.5 f.; a Bassiba by Reyer (Jacobsz.), estimated 4 f.; and a painting by Wouwerman, estimated 5 f., to list only the attributed paintings (Biesboer, loc.cit. p. 217). Lucas or Luycas Hendricksz. van Beeck, who may or may not been identical with Christina's late husband, was married (formerly?) to Aeltje Egberts. His inventory of 1654, qua kamenmaker, is mentioned in Van Dillen, Bronnen tot de geschiedenis van het bedrijfsleven R.G.P. 144(1974), p. 617. |
