2 - Vijverhof in Context

Summary

Abstract: This chapter situates Agnes Block’s ownership and development of Vijverhof in context. An exploration of visual and literary culture alongside the Dutch investment in land reclamation firmly anchors the country estate at the heart of a nascent national identity. A comparison of Block’s plant collection with those of the most celebrated public and private gardens establishes that Vijverhof was on par with the very best that Dutch botany had to offer. The case of Magdalena Poulle at Gunterstein shows that Block was not alone in exercising her agency through land acquisition and the development of a country estate that would become intertwined with her self-representation. Block, like Poulle, far from being on the periphery, was part of a national cultural movement.

Keywords: national identity and gardens; early modern natural history; Gunterstein; women and garden culture; proliferation of country estates; Dutch garden culture

The preceding chapter leaves little doubt that Vijverhof must have been a wonderful country escape, and that it was inextricable from Block’s self-fashioning and identity. Two critical questions remain, however: how special was Vijverhof as a garden, and was Block unique as its creator, caretaker, and owner?

Answering these questions requires situating both Block and Vijverhof in the socio-cultural context of the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic. This was a world in which country life, the pursuit of nature, and the development of natural knowledge were lauded as ideals. The period of time spanning Block’s adult life was characterized by the development of natural sciences, the embrace of empiricism, and a fascination for botany. Indeed, botany and gardens were critical components in the formation of a Dutch national identity. Thus, this chapter argues that Vijverhof exemplified a passion for gardens and botany that captivated the entire country and, as such, placed Block and her pursuits at the heart of the Dutch Zeitgeist. A case study of Magdalena Poulle and her estate, Gunterstein (also along the Vecht, nearby Vijverhof) provides support for the proposition that although it was not necessarily commonplace, women did buy country estates and did invest resources in developing sophisticated gardens.

Vijverhof: Representative of a Particularly Dutch Passion for Botany

It is a key underpinning of this book that Block’s interest in botany and devotion to her country estate transcended the individual and the marginal.