Maria Thins was raised in a devout Dutch Catholic family with two sisters and a brother.
28 Facts About Maria Thins
1.
2.
Maria Thins married a prosperous brickmaker, Reynier Bolnes, in 1622.
3.
Maria Thins was a wealthy woman due to the separation settlement of her husband in 1649 and the estates she inherited from her family.
4.
Maria Thins reduced the money she provided to Catharina and her husband due to the loss of income during that period.
5.
Vermeer died in 1675, and Maria Thins died five years later.
6.
Maria Thins drew up her will to maximize what she could provide for her grandchildren and their education, while limiting how much might be taken by Catharina's creditors.
7.
Maria Thins was an heiress when she married, and she collected art, including several in the style of Utrecht Caravaggists.
8.
Maria Thins had a son Willem, and a daughter Cornelia.
9.
Reynier confessed that he physically abused Cornelia and would do it again if Maria Thins beat their son Willem.
10.
Maria Thins moved to Delft in 1642 to get away from her abusive husband.
11.
Maria Thins attained custody of her daughters in 1641 and moved with them to Delft.
12.
Maria Thins lived on Oude Langendijk next to the Jesuit Catholic Church in the Catholic section of Delft called paepenhoek.
13.
Maria Thins received half of her husband's assets, a substantial amount, in 1649.
14.
Maria Thins derived income from annuities, interest income, and property rentals, including farmland.
15.
Maria Thins lived off of the capital of her investments.
16.
Maria Thins attained a comfortable standard of living of 15,000 or more guilders a year in the 1660s.
17.
In 1665, Maria Thins was entrusted with her son's property.
18.
Maria Thins wrote a will, which limited Willem's share to the legal minimum of one sixth of her estate.
19.
Maria Thins mentioned that he had been calling her names since his youth.
20.
Maria Thins's mother disapproved of the marriage because he was not Catholic, and likely because he was of a lower artisan class.
21.
Maria Thins's works portray subjects with clothing and furnishings more luxurious than his own.
22.
Maria Thins was a devotee of the Jesuit order in the nearby Catholic Church, and this seems to have influenced Johannes and Catharina.
23.
Maria Thins hired Vermeer to manage financial issues for her in 1667 and 1675.
24.
Maria Thins collected monies owed her, and he handled her investments.
25.
Maria Thins had to take a loss on sales of works of art and was unable to sell his own works.
26.
Maria Thins's mother-in-law was financially strained during this period due to the loss of rental income from farmland due to the war.
27.
Maria Thins reduced the money that she spent to support the Vermeers.
28.
Maria Thins crafted her will to maximize her grandchildren's support and education, preventing her estate from going to Catharina's creditors.