Biography

Joost Van den Vondel was born on November 17, 1587 in Cologne, Holy Roman Empire [now Germany]. He was a writer, known for Adam in Ballingschap (1984), Gijsbrecht van Aemstel (1957) and Joseph in Dotan (1958). He died on February 15, 1679 in Amsterdam, Dutch Republic [now Noord-Holland, Netherlands].

His oeuvre consists of 33 plays, a large number of poems in different genres and forms, an epic poem and many translations of predominantly classical literature.

Arguably the most important commemoration for Vondel is Amsterdam's biggest park, the Vondelpark, especially with the statue of Vondel in the northern part of the park. The statue was erected in 1867 and made by the sculptor Louis Royer; the plinth for the statue was designed by the famous architect Pierre Cuypers.

Joost Van den Vondel was a Dutch playwright, poet, literary translator and writer. He is generally regarded as the greatest writer in the Dutch language as well as an important figure in the history of Western literature.

Vondel primarily wrote tragedies, of which a great deal were written in the period between 1654 and 1667. Although his Palamedes (1625) and Gijsbrecht van Aemstel (1637) are acclaimed works, the tragedies he wrote after 1654 are considered to be the highlights of his oeuvre.

Although Vondel was born in Cologne, his family, who were Mennonites, originally came from Antwerp, but had to flee after the fall of the city in 1585. They settled in Cologne, but were persecuted there as well. Eventually they moved to Amsterdam in the then newly formed Dutch Republic.