(b Weesp, 4 Jan 1726; d Amsterdam, 20 Dec 1798). Dutch timber merchant, collector, printmaker, print publisher, draughtsman and art theorist. He was one of the most important Dutch dilettanti of the 18th century. His interest in art began at an early age, and from the age of 12 he was taught drawing by Norbert van Bloemen (1670–1746). Two years later he began to learn the timber trade with Johannes Bontekoning, in whose firm, Bontekoning and Aukes, he became a partner in 1756. Ploos’s first mezzotint dates from that year. He made drawings throughout his life, in a technically skilled rather than original style, and designed book illustrations. In 1758 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Cornelis Troost.

• Ploos van Amstel, Cornelis
  • Amsterdam, §III, 3: Art life and organization, 1710–1805
  • Netherlands, the, §XV: Art education
  • Troost, Cornelis
  • Troost, Cornelis, §2: Critical reception and posthumous reputation
  • assistants
    • Körnlein, Johannes
  • collections
    • Netherlands, the, §XIII: Collecting and dealing
  • drawings
    • Feitama, Sybrand
    • Städel, Johann Friedrich
  • methods
    • Etching, soft-ground, §2: History
  • personal collection
    • Röver, Valerius
  • pupils
    • Schouten, H. P.
    • Wüest, Johann Heinrich
  • works
    • Buys, Jacobus
    • Cats, Jacob (ii)
    • Crayon manner, §2: History
    • Prints, §III, 6(ii)(a): Colour printing, 15th–18th centuries