Visiting grand houses: The other Belle

Hello my Friends,

A little while ago I visited this castle. As you may know I like to visit these houses from time to time. Not only to enjoy the preservd beauty of bygone ages, but also to get inspired for the miniature rooms of huis ter Swinnedael

One of the better known inhabitants was Belle van Zuylen. Isabella Agneta Elisabeth van Tuyll van Serooskerken (Belle van Zuylen’s official name) was born at Slot Zuylen castle, near Utrecht, in 1740. She died in Colombier, near Neuchâtel in Switzerland, in 1805. Her aristocratic family belonged at the time to the most prestigious and influential elite in the Dutch Republic. Yet I should not try to present her as a truly Dutch author. She wrote in French, German and English but hardly in Dutch.

She is a woman for which I have had great respect since first read her (romanticised) biography written by Hella S. Haasse. When I was 14. I say romanticised but the book is based on a lot of research including the hundreds of letters written by Belle and her contempories. Hella is an author famous for ger historic novels. Often about interesting women in history. I have read and enjoyed most of them. After this biography I have read several of Belle's books and enjoyed them. She mocked several of the preconceptions of her age with a sharp eye and a witty pen. And Annabelle (Belle) Zonneschut is loosely based on this other Belle.

Her statement 'I have no talent for subservience' is typical of the liberal Dutch writer, who, after an excellent upbringing, came into contact with many great minds of her time. She wrote novels, pamphlets, plays and libretti for operas, but she owes her reputation mainly to her letters. Belle van Zuylen has become known as an independent, emancipated woman of the Enlightenment.

Two pictures up you see the 'gobelin room' where the owners of the castle had their formal entertainments. The tapisserie covering the walls show an idealised landscape that is original to the room since the mid 17th century. The biggest change here has been the addition of the wainscotting in the 18th century. 

The picture directly above shows the diningroom with portraits of succeeding generations of the  Van Tuyll van Serooskerken family. Unfortunately I could not avoid the glare of the chandelier in the portraits, but You get the general idea. 

I have noticed that in the Netherlands,a1 museums and grand houses are very happy to display their historic dollshouses dollshouses if they have one. This one is called Kindervreugd which translates as "Children's Pleasure." Quite an apt name I think. 

You can not compare this house to the dollshouse cabinets from the 17th and 18th century. Those are collectors pieces for adults and this is a toy house for children. Nevertheless it has several interesting features and miniatures.

The castles kitchen probably does not differ too much from the time that Belle lived her in her youth. Although it is not unlikely that she has ever set a foot in this room at all. With the dressingroom and wigroom nearing completion for Huis ter Swinnendael, I am now making sketches of the kitchen layout. A kitchen such as this provides me with a lot of ideas. I espescialy like the 3 sections within the huge hearth (with it's own window even!) A bread oven on the left. An open fire for roasting and boiling big pots in the center and a tiled stove on the right for dishes that are more delicate or require more controlled temperatures. Such a division in threes will come back into the kitchen of the house of my Belle Zonneschut. 

Another room I liked was this study. having a built in China cabinet in a study is quite odd. The reason for this is that this room was most probably a winter diningroom. It is comparably a small room in the south facing corner of the castle. Therefore this room was easier to heat with this fireplace than the larger diningroom we saw before while it profited of the winters sun from dawn til dusk. It is however a guess on my part because I could not find information about it. Love the built in cabinet though!

The pictures above and below are of a suite of two smaller rooms that were used bij Belle. The historic wallpaper is restored and the period furniture gives it the feel of how this room may have been furnished in her day. I forgot to take an overview picture of the entire room, just one of the daybed with a canopy over it. 

The smaller room, which is a cabinet really, is said to be used by her for writing her letters and other work when in residence. Apart from the enchanting writing desk I also love the window treatment. Perhaps this is a good example for the curtain for  dressingroom of belle Zonneschut. let's have a little experiment for that soon!

There were more interesting rooms in the castle ofcourse. But showing them all would make this post too long and not more interesting. 

In my mind, Belle Zonneschut is not as modern as Belle van Zuylen. She is however a women who reads, writes and speaks her mind when she has formed an opinion on a subject. And Carel Polyander does not stop her, but appreciates her as she is. Both are proponents of the 18th century enlightenment, but are held back by some convictions and prejudices to be called really modern. These were however the first steps of the emancipation of women in general. 

For example, my Belle is proud of her ancestry with a family that slowly but steadily grew in wealth and climbed the social ladder, where Belle van Zuylen's first book 'Le Noble' ridiculed the aristocracy's habit of revering forefathers and taking their position in society for granted. She also uttered critique on noble emigrés from France. Who were unwilling to adapt themselves to their new situations and continued to take their privileges for granted. 

So my Belle is not as modern and outspoken as the other Belle, but she has an enquiring open mind and uses the freedom she has to pursue knowledge and paint and write and what not. Certainly not the typical 'subservient' wife which most women were brought up to be. And Carel Polyander loves her all the more for it. As he should! :-)

Well that is it for now. I hope that you have liked this post. No miniatures this time, but I'll be back soon with some more about that. 

Take care,

Huibrecht