Johan van Heemskerk

Johan van Heemskerk (* 1597 in Amsterdam, † February 27, 1656 ) was a Dutch writer of the Baroque, lawyer and politician.

Life

Johan van Heemskerk was born into the family of Van Heemskerck. He attended school in Bayonne, until he moved to the University of Leiden in 1617. In 1621 he went on a four-year Grand Tour and published his first book of poems Minne art, which appeared in 1622. He earned the title of Master of Arts in Bourges 1623rd The following year he visited Hugo Grotius in Paris.

After his return to Amsterdam in 1625, he published Minnepligt and began to work as a lawyer in The Hague. In 1628 he was entrusted in England with legal responsibilities for the Dutch East India Company to settle the dispute over the island of Ambon. In the same year he published a collection of poems Minne customer.

He returned in 1640 returned to Amsterdam, where he married Alida, a sister of influential patrician and mayor Geurt van Beuningen. In 1641 he published a Dutch version of Pierre Corneille's Cid, a tragicomedy. His most famous work, the pastoral romance Batavian Arcadia, was published 1647th However, he had already written it ten years earlier.

During his twelve last years Heemskerk sat in the Upper Chamber of the States General.

Work

Heemskerk's seal fell during the 18th century into oblivion, but rezipiert back stronger today. His famous Batavian Arcadia was an adaptation of Philip Sidney's Arcadia ( 1590). They enjoyed over one hundred years of great popularity, peaking twelve editions. This is demonstrated by the many imitators writings, such as the Dordrechtsche Arcadia ( 1663 ) by Lambert van den Bos and Rotterdamsche Arcadia ( 1703) by Willem den Elger.