A look inside Jetty and Paul in the city center: ‘Vincent van Gogh once came here’

The originally seventeenth-century house of Jetty (67) and Paul (66) Krijnen on Herenstraat has a rich history. The painter Anthon van Rappard once lived there and his friend Vincent van Gogh came to visit. The town hall still breathes history and art. Wherever you look, you see paintings, books and other precious objects with a story. Their interior style? “A bit student-like and cozy.”

Jetty and Paul moved into their house in 1992. Their son was two weeks old, their daughter would be born here later. Jetty (art historian) and Paul (conductor) delved into the history of their home and the Herenstraat, about which Jetty wrote a book. “This house and the houses next door were originally one gigantic home of the noble Van Rappard family. Van Gogh, still unknown at the time, came here to learn from the painter Van Rappard.” The painters corresponded with each other: Van Gogh sent letters to this address and Van Rappard wrote back to him from this place. “Until Van Rappard criticized Van Gogh’s The Potato Eaters. Then their friendship was over.”

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Crazy scrap ceiling

The couple retained centuries-old elements of the building, which was divided into several homes in 1930. You enter the dining room through an eighteenth-century door and go upstairs via a staircase with railings from that period. In the study you stand on an eighteenth-century floor made of Koperwijk pine from Scandinavia. “And the walls here are incredibly thick. That’s a good thing, because I’m preparing my choir rehearsals for the grand piano. The neighbors don’t hear anything about it,” says Paul. And the dark brown ceiling in the dining room? “That was installed around 1950. It’s a crazy ceiling with scrap metal, but we think it’s attractive.” Jetty: “We wonder if there is a beautiful stucco ceiling hidden underneath.”

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Painting for 3600 guilders

There are paintings from different periods on every wall. About twenty in total. “My mother and grandfathers painted and left us paintings and watercolors. We have also purchased works, including more contemporary works,” says Jetty. The dining room features an oil landscape from around 1890. “When we first moved here, about thirty years ago, we bought it in an antique shop in Schoutenstraat. We invested half of our savings in it: 3,600 guilders. Now it’s worth less. Nobody wants this, it’s way too big,” says Paul with a laugh.

Mayor’s pin

Among all the works in the hallway, two more frames catch the eye: in the corner there is a print of the top 10 of the Broese bookstore from 2008. The book that Jetty and Paul wrote together, Grolmans Utrecht, is in second place. In this book they describe how artist Grolman captured the cityscape around 1900. Slightly lower, the framed Pin of the City of Utrecht adorns the wall. Paul: “I received this from the Mayor in 2017 for my cultural and social contributions. I conduct several Utrecht choirs and am secretary of the board of the Utrecht Facade Drawing Fund.”

Vincent van Gogh sent letters to this address

Coffee with the carillon of the Dom Tower

With the first rays of sunshine, the two settle down on their roof terrace. Jetty: “We like to have breakfast there on Saturday mornings while we hear the carillon of the Dom Tower playing. Or we eat there in the evening.” On Wednesdays it is a regular occurrence that the couple’s son and daughter come for pizza. If possible, on the roof terrace. Sometimes we play table tennis in the attic. We used to play hide and seek here, ideal with all those corners,” Jetty remembers.

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Connected to the Herenstraat

Jetty and Paul are devoted to their house, the street and the neighborhood. Paul: “We feel at home here. We are connected to Utrecht and enjoy this historically attractive house.” Yet they sometimes think about moving. “We now enjoy climbing stairs, it helps us stay in shape. But if we are less mobile later, living on one floor has advantages. But for now we will stay here,” says Jetty.

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Your turn

Do you want to show what your home looks like? Send an e-mail to [email protected]. Maybe you live in a hip apartment in Hoograven or you have a nice home in Lombok. Whether you live in a student room or city villa; There is something to say about every home.

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