KEYSER, de, Dutch family of artists
They originated from Utrecht and were active mainly in Amsterdam, Delft and London. Cornelis Dirxz. de Keyser was a cabinetmaker in Utrecht, and his youngest son, Hendrick de Keyser I, became a talented sculptor and architect and the most renowned member of the family. Hendrick's sons, Pieter de Keyser and Willem de Keyser, followed in his footsteps but did not reach the heights of his artistic accomplishments, while Thomas de Keyser became a significant portrait painter. The fourth son, Hendrick de Keyser II (1613-1665), worked from 1633 to 1647 in London in the studio of Nicholas Stone I, the English sculptor and architect with whom Hendrick de Keyser I had become acquainted during a short stay in London in 1606–07; Stone had gone back to Amsterdam with Hendrick I to finish his training, had married Hendrick's daughter Maria de Keyser, returned to London and eventually became Master Mason to Charles I of England (1632). Huybrecht de Keyser (1592-1678), Hendrick de Keyser I's nephew, was also a sculptor and mason in Amsterdam.
