Jacob Dissius

Jacob Abrahamsz. Dissius (1653 — 1695) was a Dutch typographer and printer. He inherited a collection of 21 of Johannes Vermeer's works, including The Milkmaid, Portrait of a Young Woman, A Girl Asleep, Woman Holding a Balance, and The Music Lesson. In 1680, he married Magdalena, daughter and sole heir of Vermeer's main patron Maria de Knuijt, her mother, with her father Pieter van Ruijven. Dissius died in 1695, and his collection was auctioned off in Amsterdam the following year. Biography Jacob Abrahamsz. Dissius was baptised on 23 November 1653 in Delft as the son of Maria Cloeting and the printer Abraham Dissius. He married Magdalena Pieters van Ruijven, born in 1655, on 14 April 1680, and was generally known after that by her husband's surname. Her parents were Pieter van Ruijven and Maria de Knuijt, patrons of Johannes Vermeer for the better part of the artist's career. In 2023, his mother-in-law Maria de Knuijt was identified by the curators of the 2023 exhibition of Vermeer's works at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam as the main patron due to her long-standing and supportive relationship with the artist. Dissius' father-in-law was one of the wealthier citizens of Delft. He was master of the Camer van Charitate (municipal charitable department). His fortune was made through wise investments of the riches he and his wife inherited. Dissius acquired some distinction from his grandfather and namesake, the pastor of a Protestant church in Het Wout, Jacob Dissius. Dissius, a bookbinder, registered at the Guild of Saint Luke in 1676. Four years later, after he was married, he registered as a bookseller. He lived and worked at the "Golden ABC" (Het Gulden ABC) print shop on the of Delft that was owned by his father. Magdalena's father and mother died in 1674 and 1681. Magdalena inherited the Vermeer art collection, other works of art, a house in Voorstraet, the domain of Spalant, and interest-bearing obligations.