The Dutch painters of De Pijp
With Ferdinand Bol, Gerard Dou (whose real name was actually Gerrit), Daniël Stalpaert and Jacob van Campen, De Pijp is quite a creative neighbourhood: its streets are named after painters. The Heineken brewery has been located on its current site on the Stadhouderskade since 1867. When parts of the brewery complex were demolished at the end of the 1980s, space was freed up for new buildings with bars and restaurants and a large square. That square, surely, had to become the Heinekenplein, as a direct link to the beer brand so intertwined with this place.
Making beer is not the same as painting
Unfortunately, the plan of the Heineken management was not quite what the city council had in mind. Under the applicable rules, naming something after an existing commercial brand is not allowed, and on top of that the streets of De Pijp are, as mentioned, named after painters. Double bad luck! Fortunately a compromise was actually found, because there turned out to be a well-known painter in the Heineken family after all: Marie Heineken. She lived from 1844 to 1930, which means her life overlapped by seven years with that of chairman Alfred Heineken, who formally 'opened' the construction of the new complex in 1993 by driving in the first pile.
Marie it is
When an alternative plan to name the square after Nelson Mandela fails, the decision is made: Marie Heineken becomes the namesake of the new square. And yes, she really is a genuine Heineken, because her father was an uncle of the founder of what is now a global beer brand: Gerard Adriaan Heineken. Marie Heineken worked as a painter until her death, making mainly portraits and cityscapes. As far as we could discover, her work is not on display in any museum, but it is offered for sale online.
