Willem Boy

Within a few years he became one of the country's leading artists whose talents proved useful in a wide range of fields; he, for example, led the construction of the fortification at Vaxholm in 1589.

[1] Boy is thought to have soon returned to Flanders to spend six years working on the sarcophagus of Gustav Vasa and his two first consorts Catherine and Margaret.

[2] When Boy was informed of the situation he immediately managed to have the repayment postponed and wrote a letter to the Swedish monarch who happened to be in Kalmar.

Furthermore, to ensure Dutch merchants in Sweden would support his cause, he threatened to free them from their favoured position and demanded that they produce a security at least equal to the value of the monument.

During his work on the castle in Stockholm, Boy had to supervise hundreds of employees and ensure materials were delivered in proper order, while keeping his demanding king happy.

Two years later, stairs were built south of the castle while the northern gate was furnished with a tower adorned with a spire and a stone tablet carrying the royal coat of arms.

[2] A monastery built by Lake Mälaren in the 15th century was made royal property by King Gustav I and, under his sons Eric and John, it was transformed into the Svartsjö Palace.

The main building was a large cube crowned by a cupola and small towers with a round court surrounded by arcades in two stories in front.

The palace was destroyed by fire a century later, a fate shared with most of his works, which seems to confirm Boy was apparently not an architect in the proper sense.

The royal mansion named Torvesund on the location was rebuilt into a palace by King John III, who was able to take a few rooms in possession in 1580, and the construction seems to have been complete four years later, save for the adornment of the interior.

The foundation for the Trinity was laid in 1589 to the plans of Boy but, by the death of the king in 1592, construction work had stopped, with the walls only reaching 6 feet above the ground.

[2] Additionally, Boy is believed to be responsible for the design of John III's Renaissance reconstruction of St James's church in Stockholm, built around 1520–1592 and featuring a central nave flanked by two tall aisles resting on sandstone columns.

[1] On 28 February 1562 Boy travelled to Antwerp, and in 1565 he arrived in Stockholm where King John III appointed him a salary of 1.600 marks silver coins annually and emoluments in kind (corn, hops, a court dress, and lodging).