Wybrand Hendriks

Wybrand Hendriks (June 24, 1744, Amsterdam – January 28, 1831, Haarlem), was a Dutch painter and the concierge of the Teylers Museum. He is primarily known because of his portraits.

Wybrand Hendriks was born in a sculptor family, as the son of the sculptor Hendrik Hendriksz (ca. 1704-1782) and his wife Aaltje Claasdr. Both his brothers (Hendrik jr. and Frans) followed in the foot steps of their father, and became sculptors as well. His only sister, Cornelia, married the sculptor Rijk Rijke.

According to the Netherlands Institute for Art History he learned to paint while working for the decorative wall paper factory of Johannes Remmers in Amsterdam. In 1772 he purchased a wall paper company from Anthony Palthe, son of Gerhard Jan Palthe. In 1775 he married Palthe's widow, Agatha Ketel, who he drew in mourning clothes in 1773.

A painting he later made in 1791 of her sitting across from him at a table (probably situated in the fundatiehuis) was purchased for Teylers Museum with support from the Vereniging Rembrandt in 1999. In the year he married, he made a trip to England and Belgium.

In the 1780s he served a five-year term as one of the directors of the Haarlemse Tekenacademie (Haarlem drawing academy). From 1786 to 1819 he was the concierge ("kastelein") of the Teyler's Stichting in Haarlem, and he lived at the "Fundatiehuis" as curator of the art collection.

He assumed the position in 1785 after his predecessor Vincent Jansz van der Vinne had left in disagreement with Martin van Marum, the head of the fossil and instrument collections. He maintained and restored the pieces in the collection as well. He maintained a studio in the old drawing room of Teyler's drawing academy, which had been moved to the city hall. As curator, he was responsible for expanding the collection of art, and for that he participated in auctions throughout the Netherlands to purchase drawings. Through Willem Anne Lestevenon he managed to purchase an important collection of 1700 Italian drawings from the collection of Queen Christina of Sweden in 1790 (the Odescalchi collection). This collection includes works by Michelangelo and Raphael, which are currently amongst the most important and valuable pieces in the Teylers Museum art collection.

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