Drie eeuwen vaderlandsche geschied-uitbeelding, 1500-1800

(1952)–H. van de Waal– rechtenstatus

Een iconologische studie

Part two

VI. The first attempts at portraying the past

A. The fifteenth century

Ga naar margenoot+Before printing came into general use it is not possible to speak of historical illustrations in the modern sense of the word (in mss. one finds at the most miniatures which lay stress on the exotic nature of the events described, (121:1-2). The first bookprinters' workshops were highly cosmopolitan, and there was a rapid exchange of the examples for illustrations (121:3).Ga naar margenoot+Thus the influence of the illustrations reaches far wider than that of historiographical texts. The study of visual representations of history may therefore not be limited to the products of a single country.

Rolevinck's Fasciculus temporum (ed. Louvain 1475) (122:1-2). As yet there are no illustrations of events from national history. The constantly repeated woodcuts should rather be regarded as indications: here a pope isGa naar margenoot+spoken of, there an emperor, etc. (123:1). The name of the person under discussion is often placed in a circle. The edition Utrecht 1480 contains illustrations derived from the Rudimentum Noviciorum, Lübeck 1475 (123:4). In an appendix to the edition of 1480 occur, besides the ‘portraits’ of the kings and the circles with their names constantly repeated, for the first time small coats of arms to indicate a particular person.

Ga naar margenoot+Die Jeeste van Julius Caesar, c. 1487 (124:1) contains five woodcuts, one of which dipicts the Roman emperor with the doublé eagle of the German Empire (124:2), and the Founding of Nymeguen (fig. in text p. 124; 124:3). This was a first attempt to depart from the absolute-anachronistic standpoint probably because the author was not a contemporary, but Caesar himself.

Ga naar margenoot+The Chronyke van Brabant, Antwerp 1479 (125:1), contains 94 illus-

trations in all (125:2); many of the blocks were used more than once (125:3). They were partly copied from illustrations in popular books of the N. Netherlands (125:5-6).

Ga naar margenoot+At the moment when the illustrating of historical works is first considered desirable, illustrations designed for literary works of an historical nature were already in existence. The portrayal of an episode as described in an historical text is always superfluous from a scientific point of view. When historical works are illustrated with this sort of representations it is always a concession to public taste. The development procedes from the not illustrated scientific historical work via the illustrated historical tale to the illustrated chronicle in the vernacular.

B. The sixteenth century

The development does not continue with regularity in the 16th century. On attaining a certain standard of routine nothing was done beyond the application of the skill obtained; old blocks were even cut up for new illustrations made through combining various pieces.

We discuss the following examples:

Ga naar margenoot+The Spieghel historiael, 1515 (126:1), for instance has four copies after the passion of Delbecq-Schreiber (127:1).

The Cronycke van Hollandt, 1517, the key-stone of Dutch mediaeval historiography (127:2), is a translation of Joh. à Leydis' Chronicon; the whole undertaking probably was a publisher's gamble on the general interest inGa naar margenoot+Dutch History in connection with the Spanish succession (128:1). The manuscripts of Joh. à Leydis' Chronicon are unillustrated (128:2). The illustrations must be regarded as entirely the work of the publisher; sometimes they are in flat contradiction of the text (128:3; cf. fig. in text p. 128).Ga naar margenoot+Passages which might have given rise to the portrayal of ancient manners and customs remain unillustrated (129:1-3). Almost a century was to pass before historical illustrations were on a par with the scientific level of the works to which they belonged.

Ga naar margenoot+Analysis of the origin of the 110 illustrations in this edition (130:1):

A.	Prints from the old blocks cut for the crusade romance Historie Hertoghe Godevaerts van Boloen published about 1486 by Godfried de Os at Gouda (fig. in text p. 131).
B.	Prints from sawn up blocks, which had also originally been used in the printing office of Godfried de Os at Gouda for his edition of Olivier de la Marche's Chevalier délibéré, published between 1486 and 1490 (fig. in text p. 134 & Pl. 49).
C.	Prints from a number of old blocks probably cut by the same artist as the series mentioned under B and intended for a book unknown so far (figs. in text pp. 136/7).

D.	Copies from woodcuts in the Nuremberg edition of Hartmann Schedel's Liber Chronicarum, 1493 (fig. in text p. 139).
E.	Copies from woodcuts by Hans Burgkmair (fig. in text p. 141).
F.	Several woodcuts by Lucas van Leyden, some of which Seversz had already used in other books (figs. in text pp. 142, 144, 145).
G.	Woodcuts by a pupil of Lucas van Leyden, some of which had probably been made purposely for the Cronyke (fig. in text p. 146).
H.	Four woodcuts with full-length representations of princes (fig. in text p. 148).
I.	Three woodcuts with religious subjects.
K.	Two woodcuts, one of which is the titlepage.
L.	Five woodcuts which differ greatly in style and quality; none of which can be placed in any of the previous categories.

Ga naar margenoot+The most important foreign products (mainly originated from the humanistic centres Augsburg, Nuremberg and Strasburg (153:4). The significance of France and England was far smaller in this respect. J. Wimpfeling,Ga naar margenoot+Germania, Strasburg 1501 (154:2). Burgkmair's Genealogy of the Emperor Maximilian (154:3). Daniel Hopfer's title-page to the ChroniconGa naar margenoot+Abbatis Urspergensis, Augsburg 1515 (155:0). Burgkmair's title-page to Jordanes De Rebus Gothorum, Augsburg 1515 (155:2-3). Holbein's titleborderGa naar margenoot+with the victory of Arminius, Basle 1517 (156:1). Noviomagus, Lucubratiuncula de Batavorum insula, Antwerp 1520 (156:2). Meisterlin'sGa naar margenoot+Augsburg Chronicle of 1522. Noviomagus, Historia Batavica, Strasburg 1530. The woodcut on the title-page, ascribed to H. Weiditz (fig. in text p. 158), has been wrongly regarded as representing Batavians. In reality the subject is: Adam and Eve with their offspring after the Fall, and the woodcut is not an illustration designed for the occasion, but the printer's devise (157:1). Similar Strasburg printers' devices occur (157:4 and 161), for instance with scenes from the life of Wodewoses (fig. in text p. 161) (162:1). In such aGa naar margenoot+representation of Adam and Eve after the Fall there is an idyllic-arcadian influence, originating from the figure of the Wodewose. Thus the legendaryprimitive supplied an existing want at a time when the primitive in its historical sense had barely been discovered.

Ga naar margenoot+Examples of the influence of Burgkmair. Pappenheim Chronicle, Augsburg 1530 (163:1-3). Cronike van Brabant, Antwerp 1530, reprint by Jan van Doesborgh of the work discussed on p. 125 (163:4), to which among other things seven more or less free copies of Burgkmair's TheuerdankillustrationsGa naar margenoot+have been added (164:1). Excellente Cronike van Vlaenderen, Antwerp 1531 with 12 direct copies and problably 5 free copies of the Theuerdank (164:2).

Representations of the ancient Germanic kings and the types of Germanic tribes derived from them. To Andreas Althamer is due the honour of having

brought into prominence from Genesis the name of Ascenas whom he identified with the Tuiscon mentioned by Tacitus (164:3).

Burchard Waldis' Ursprung und Herkommen der Zwölf ersten alten Könige (1543) is an adaptation in German of Althamer's learned theories; the 12 large woodcuts in this work are by P. Flettner (Pl. 50:1), E. Schoen, N. Stoer, V. Solis and H. Brosamer (164:4-5). Most of the Germanic princes have a fantastic mediaeval appearance, except the Tuiscon, an elderly man with his left hand wrapped in a corner of his coat (Pl. 52:1-2). This mustGa naar margenoot+be an instance of the influence of a Byzantine example (165:1), three other prints are copies after Burgkmair (165:2). A second edition of this work appeared in 1566 with woodcuts by Jost Amman (165:3) which are of no importance for our purpose.

The illustrations to Lazius, De gentium aliquot migrationibus, Basle 1557, which to a great extent are immediately connected with Waldis' series, were imitated in a series of etchings in the N. Netherlands in the 17th century, in their turn these were copied in the 18th century for books which until the 19th century determined the visual conception of the period dealt with. As in Waldis' series, each of the illustrations represents a single figure (165:4) (fig. in text p. 165). The time for historical scènes had not yet come.

Ga naar margenoot+Several etched copies of Burgkmair's Genealogie by Aug. Hirschvogel are known, and probably have some connection with the plans for Lazius' book (166:1). This work of the learned Lazius (166:2) was reprinted three times (166:3); in it two worlds meet: besides the first mention of the Nibelungenlied (166:4) and the first rhunic texts (166:5) the book also still shows traces of mediaeval fabling historiography. This character is also apparent in the illustrations which no longer claim to portray princes, but representatives of Germanic tribes. The legendary king Suevus now became ‘a Swede’ and so on (Pl. 50 & 51:2-3) (166:6). The woodcuts were certainlyGa naar margenoot+not executed by Lazius himself (166:7-8), but he did probably supervise (166:9) the work. In three places coins are said to be the source of the illustration (167:1); other archeological examples are also recognizable (Pl. 71:1-2 & 23) (167:2-3). These prints with their aura of historical exactitude were in 1573 also chosen as examples for the illustrations of an adapted edition of Waldis with woodcuts by Tobias Stimmer (167:4). In the same way copies after these prints are to be found in the ms. of Lucas de Heere mentioned above (Pl. 51:1) (167:5; cf. note 93:1).

In the etchings by Boxhorn-Soutman-Visscher published in Haarlem (1650) the Lazius illustrations were finally executed in their finest form. This edition dedicated to Christina of Sweden (168:2) was in its turn copied in Sweden for wall-paintings (Pl. 51:2 & 53:1-2), and also in the illustrationsGa naar margenoot+to the Antiquitates Belgicae, Amsterdam 1700 (168:4).

In this last case the figures were placed before a background with genrelike scenes (168:5), which were derived from the book by Cluverius to be

Ga naar margenoot+discussed below (1616). The Annales Bohemorum by Hage published at Prague in 1761 imitated some prints from the Haarlem series (169:2); in E.J. de Westphalen, Monumenta inedita rerum Germanicorum eleven of Lazius' woodcuts were directly copied (169:3).

Popular historical works. The representations of freaks and monsters, meteorological phenomena, etc., which still took up so much space in Schedel's chronicle (cf. p. 137) were now out of place in ‘learned’ works such as that of Lazius; they were however retained in more popular publications such as the works of the pious Sebastian Franck, whose influence amongst humble folks was also great in the Netherlands (169:4), and againGa naar margenoot+in those of the polyhistor Sebastian Münster, whose Cosmographia is one of the most frequently read books of the 16th and 17th centuries (by 1650 46 editions in 6 languagues had appeared, 170:1-3). The illustrators who had to depict the primitive stages of civilization described by Münster, knew no better than to place 16th century folks with their pots, pans, table, and other goods and chattels beneath a tree, whilst the text had described aGa naar margenoot+considerably more simple mode of life (171:1) (fig. in text p. 170/171). Not until the end of the 16th century was there to be a change in this matter.

VII. The past as a primitive period

A. The idyllic-primitive

Ga naar margenoot+Ortelius, Aurei Saeculi Imago, Antwerp 1596 (172:1), is the first work with illustrations of reconstructed historical scenes (etchings, probably by P. van der Borcht (Pl. 55:2, 57:1, 58) (172:3). This booklet owed its origin entirely to Ortelius' historic-geographical studies (173:3-5 & 174)Ga naar margenoot+and the influence is evident of a print of the idyllic Tempe previously edited by Ortelius (Pl. 54) (173:3-4); the incongruity between the title and theGa naar margenoot+far from idyllic conditions mentioned on the authority of Tacitus and others (war etc.) was already noticed by contemporaries (175:1).

Ga naar margenoot+Illustrations by the same etcher on the title-page of De Jode, Germania, Antwerp 1593 (175:2) in a few instances bear some resemblance to Ortelius' series. On stylistic grounds one would rather accept a reverse sequence to that indicated by the dates. Possibly the publication of Ortelius' book was delayed for reasons unknown to us (175:3).

Ga naar margenoot+P. Kaerius, Germania inferior, Amsterdam 1617, contains a series of illustrations similar to those in Ortelius' booklet (176:4), although there are no indications of a direct imitation either in the etchings or in the legends by P. Montanus (176:5). The picture of the ancient national civilization sketched in the last-mentioned book is considerably rougher and moreGa naar margenoot+barbaric (Pl. 56:2 & 57:2) (human sacrifices, 177:1). The far more crude

representation of the burning of widows undoubtedly betrays the influence of contemporary illustrated travel books (Pl. 58:2 & 59:2) (177:4). All told however this little book belongs to the group in which primitive cultural conditions are represented in an idyllic form.

B. The uncivilized-primitive

Ga naar margenoot+Cluverius, De Germania antiqua, Leyden 1616, contains the most important series of prints in the field of Germanic antiquities published in Europe during the three centuries dealt with here. The influence of this work can be discerned far into the 19th century (Pl. 33:1) (178:1).

Ga naar margenoot+The bulky folio (178:2) of the Dantzig born author (179:1) entirely corresponds with the various learned Thesauri of that period (179:3-4). His work is a compendium of the historic geography of Germania, with a first volume dealing with the habits and customs of the inhabitants, chiefly after Tacitus. The prints consecutively numbered by us, refer to the following chapters:

Ga naar margenoot+1-12 costume, 13 carousing, 14 sacrifice, 15-23 armament, 24 raising upon the shield, 25 laagers, 26 funerary rites.

On stylistic grounds these prints (Pl. 60-67), which contrary to the maps are unsigned (181:1), can be divided into three groups. Discussion of theGa naar margenoot+subject matter of each print in accordance with the relevant passages in the book.

Ga naar margenoot+For print 16, ‘Germanic warriors armed with a cudgel and dressed in skins of animals’ (Pl. 33:1), the indications of Cluverius have been followed; he had given a woodcut of 1534 representing a classical statuette of HerculesGa naar margenoot+(192:1) as an example (Pl. 32:2-3). This is therefore the source of the numerous traditional representations of Teutons.

Ga naar margenoot+The main feature in Cluverius' argument is that in his opinion all the information that could be obtained about a primitive people also contributed to the knowledge of the likewise primitive Teutons. In his state of double dependancy, upon classical and biblical traditions (all non-classical peoples are barbaric, all nations originally were one and up to the Babylonian confusion of tongues equal), Cluverius is a typical representative of 17thGa naar margenoot+century Dutch civilization (199:1). The prints enumerated on page 181 under group A (Pl. 60-63) we ascribe to Simon Frisius. His etchings entirelyGa naar margenoot+harmonize with the atmosphere of the text and breathe a primitive simplicity which is never free from primitive roughness. His manneristic style is rooted in calligraphy, an art in which he himself excelled.

Ga naar margenoot+The second group is the work of Nicolaas van Geilenkercken (PI. 64-66) (201:2-3), who also etched the various maps in the book. Artistically this group has far less importance than the preceding one. The artist of theGa naar margenoot+prints placed by us in group C (Pl. 67) should probably be sought in the

entourage of A. Hondius at the Hague. Frisius' rare print ‘Der Ouden Duytschen offerhande’ (Pl. 60) i.e. sacrifice of the ancient Teutons, 202:1-3) can be connected with no book other .than that by Cluverius, printed in Leyden in the autumn of 1615 (202:5). The explanation of the reverse copyGa naar margenoot+in Cluverius' book is that when compared with the learned descriptions in the book the left and right side have been exchanged in the loose print (in the print the priest grasps the patera with his left hand etc). The book-illustration is therefore a repetition of the rejected print (203:2) possibly even by a pupil (203:3) and thus also explains its inferior quality. Some examples of the influence of the illustrations to Cluverius' book (203:4) are as follows:

1.	Ga naar margenoot+Title-page of Bertius, Commentariorum rerum Germanicorum libri tres, 1620.
2.	Four illustrations on one page by Mattheus Merian for the historical work Neuwe Archontologia Cosmica by J.L. Gottfried published by him in 1638 (204:1).
3.	A loose print, the reverse without letterprinting, and which according to its legend ‘Funeratio mortuorum, ad Lib. I cap. 53’ had been intended to serve as an illustration to an octave edition of Cluverius unknown to us. Closely related to the prints mentioned under 2 and 3 are the illustrations in G.C. Kirchmaier's Commentary on Tacitus, 1664 (205:2-3).
4.	Ga naar margenoot+To the freer imitations belong the illustrations to J. Picardt, Korte Beschrijvinge, 1660 (Pl. 69:1) (205:4), with remarkable misinterpretations of detail.
5.	An edition of Hooft's Tacitus translation of the year 1680 (205:6) is illustrated with two prints by J. Mulder after Cluverius (205:7).
6.	In one of the woodcut illustrations of Olav Rudbeck's Atlantica (1698) a print from Cluverius has been partly imitated (205:8).
7.	Ga naar margenoot+A print by C. Huyberts (1705), copied after the illustration of the sacrificial ceremony (206:1).
8.	Several freer imitations in J. van Royen, Antiquitates Germanicae, 1714 (Pl. 71:4) (206:2) and in the Antiquitates Belgicae, 1700 (Pl. 70:1) (206:3-4), in which a print concerning Germanic religious ceremonies after Verstegen also occurs (Pl. 70:2) (206:5).
9.	Artistically insignificant are the imitations on the title-page of the Tacitus edition with a commentary by J.C. Dithmar, 1725 (Pl. 68:1) (206:6).
10.	An anonymus 18th century English print with reduced copies of the illustrations in Cluverius concerning armament (Pl. 68:2) (206:7-8).
11.	In Chodowiecki's illustration (1782) to Klopstock's HermannsschlachtGa naar margenoot+the influence of the Cluverius illustrations is discernible (207:1).
12.	In the print ‘Lijkplechtigheden der Batavieren’ (=funerary rites). by Reinier Vinkeles (1790) (Pl. 72:4), a copy after Frisius' etching (Pl.

62:2), the 18th century artist omitted everything which might offend his readers by cruelty or roughness.

It is remarkable that later illustrations again and again copied those prints in which the most primitive cultural conditions were depicted. Whilst the book also contained prints which showed Teutons clad in woven materials, it was the unkempt figures of Hercules dressed in skins of beasts which made the greatest impression upon the readers of the book.

Ga naar margenoot+Opinions concerning ancient Germanic religion. Whilst as opposed to the reconstructions of Ortelius and Montanus the costumes and eating customs described by Cluverius may be considered to represent hard primitivism, the illustrations concerning religious ceremonies may be called idyllic in comparison (thus nothing is to be found which recalls human sacrifices, although this custom did come under discussion in the book, 208:1). Fame has been achieved by Cluverius' conception taken from Aventinus, ‘that the Teutons, although pagan in their worship of light, air, and fire, displayed some notion of the Holy Trinity (208:2-3), a thought which had however previously been expressed in connection with Red Indians (208:4).

An illustration by J.E. Grave (c. 1785) (Pl. 72:1) is the late parallel to Hooft's idealized description of Germanic religious ceremonies, without sacrifices of animals, let alone human beings, in a ‘church of uncarved wood’ (208:5).

Ga naar margenoot+The print for an 18th century literary adaptation of an ancient Germanic subject, an epic entitled Klaudius Civilis (1774) (Pl. 72:3), no longer shows any signs of the roughness of the Cluverius illustrations. The primitive has again become idyllic (cf. also Pl. 48:2). The allegory of the Dutch Maid (in Cluverius' series unthinkable) is originally a Pallas Athena (209:1).

The title-page of E. Schedius, De diis Germanis, Amsterdam 1648 (Pl. 69:2) (209:2), breathes an entirely different spirit, here head-hunting appears to reign supreme. This print which was copied in 1728 for a German edition of the book has, as far as we know, had no further influence. Amongst Dutch illustrations representations of such cruel rites are rare (Pl. 69:3) (209:4-5).

VIII. The past as an heroic period

A. The series by Vaenius and Tempesta (1612)

Ga naar margenoot+The publication of the series of prints: Batavorum cum Romanis Bellum (1612), with etchings after Otto Vaenius by Antonio Tempesta, and explanatory passages from Tacitus (210:2), must be viewed in the light of contemporary events. (cf. Ch. II). This work retained its influence during the 17th century (210:3) and was still reprinted in the 18th century (210:4).

In 1613 the States-General purchased a series of 12 paintings by Vaenius

Ga naar margenoot+dealing with the same subject (210:5-8). After some peregrinations (211:1-2) they are now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (211:3). What connection is there between the painted series and the prints?

Otto Vaenius was the learned master of Rubens (211:4-5, 212:1-2),Ga naar margenoot+and Antonio Tempesta (212:3) an extraordinarily prolific etcher, whose lively prints, so full of movement, rapidly spread all over Europe (212:4), and also influenced Dutch artists (212:5).

Ga naar margenoot+From a comparison of the paintings and prints dealing with the same subjects it appears that the Italian had a more progressive method of applying compositional elements (Pl. 73:1-2 & 47:1-2). In the painted series a scene with a meal appears twice (213:3). Probably the genre of the garden fête, often erotically flavoured (214:1-2), was the startingpoint forGa naar margenoot+the whole enterprise: the painting of an historical series with topical purport (Pl. 74:1 & 3; 74:4). There must have been an interaction between the stylish, but at the same time old fashioned costume of the lansquenets of the day, so customary in that idyllic genre (214:4), and the notion that this old-fashioned garment should be regarded as the dress of the Batavians.

Ga naar margenoot+Like Grotius, Vaenius draws his data concerning Batavian antiquity from the Burgundian period (hennin!) (Pl. 78:1). A contemporary might expect to find equally well-founded archaeological knowledge in this part of Vaenius' work, as in the representations of Roman soldiers derived from classical monuments (215:1).

B. The decoration of the Town Hall (1655-1697)

A description by Vondel (215:3-5) gives us an idea of the plans existing in 1655 with regard to the decoration of the Amsterdam Town Hall, which had been inaugurated, but was still unfinished both inside and out (215:2).

The commissions between 1655 and 1659. Artus Quellinus (215:6) appears - at least in the beginning - to have influenced the commissions to Nicolaas de Helt Stockade (215:7 & 9) and Erasmus II Quellinus (215:8 & 10;Ga naar margenoot+216:1-2). Three pieces glorifying the dignity, simplicity and imperturbability of the Roman consuls (216:3; in Amsterdam the translation of burgomaster was consul!): Lievens, ‘Quintus Fabius Maximus’ (216:4-5), Flinck, ‘Manius Curius Dentatus’ (216:6), Bol, ‘Caius Fabritius Luscinus in Pyrrhus camp’ (216:7).

Of a number of these works: small painted sketches still exist; these were probably submitted to the patrons first (216:8). It also seems as if on more than one occasion several artists were invited to compete by submitting sketches (e.g. sketches by Bol of subjects finally executed by Flinck, 216:9-10; and Bronkhorst, 216:11). Vondel's description made it possible for artists to know of the plans, and hoping for the best they probably sometimes made sketches of their own accord.

Several sketches by Rembrandt. It is probable that Rembrandt also tried repeatedly to obtain a commission like the others, and he made 5 completeGa naar margenoot+paintings (four of them to scale), which for reasons we can now only guess, never reached the Town Hall; in any case are no longer there now. These were the ‘Tribute Money’ with its affinity to classicistic architecturalGa naar margenoot+elements (217:1-6), ‘Quintus Fabius Maximus’ (Pl. 88:1) (217:7-8), ‘Moses showing the tables of the law’ (218:1-2) and two painted studies ‘Mars in full armour’ (1655) and ‘Athena’ or ‘Bellona in full armour’. The two latter are in the aesthetic respect closely connected with the decorative problems of the Town Hall as they appeared to Rembrandt (218:3). A drawing dating from c. 1655 and influenced by Raphael's ‘Meeting of Leo I and Attila’ (218:4) lies within the same sphere. Finally we know a description which may refer to a sketch of the subject ‘The battle of Xanten’ (218:5), also studied by Bol and Ovens.

We shall also be able to prove that Rembrandt was the only artist who fully appreciated the solutions which Italian decorative art had found for similar problems. But while he searched and sketched, his less conscientious, but certainly more pliable fellow artists were given the commissions and were able to deliver one canvas after another to the burgomasters.

The Remaining commissions in 1657 were: Thomas de Keyser's ‘Odysseus and Nausicaa’ (218:6); Willem Strycker's, ‘Theseus returns the ball of string to Ariadne’ (218:7); G. Flinck, ‘Solomon's prayer for wisdom’Ga naar margenoot+followed in 1658 by: Jan van Bronkhorst's, ‘Moses and Jethro’ (difficulties arrose here, the artist being compelled to make alterations, in 1660 payment of ƒ 1000 was made instead of the ƒ 1800 contracted; 219:2). In these years ‘Lycurgus, adopting his nephew as his son’ by Cornelis Holsteyn was painted also (219:3).

The Batavian insurrection as a feature of the programme. This was mentioned by Vondel as the subject of the decorations in the ‘gallery’, the wide passage on the first floor, which gave access to the rooms of the various boards. Vondel draws the parallel with the Dutch war against Spain in the preface to this translation of Virgil (1660), dedicated to one of the burgomasters (Cornelis de Graeff), in which he dwells more extensively on two 220 scenes than in his description of 1655 (220:1-2). This was due to the works which had already been executed.

Flinck's commission. In August 1659 Flinck had been commissioned to execute provisionally, within a few days, four of the series planned for theGa naar margenoot+gallery, as important guests were expected. These included the Elector of Brandenburg (visiting the Netherlands in connection with the marriage of Frederick Henry's third daughter to the Prince of Anholt) and John Maurice, the artistically minded stadtholder in Kleefsland, the native town of Flinck. The latter also had good connections in Amsterdam, and at the Court of the Stadtholder (221:1). Probably even Bol had designed some scenes before

Ga naar margenoot+then (Pl. 78:2 & 47:3) (221:3); nevertheless he retained the confidence (221:5-6), and with the help of Flinck's assistants erected the festive decorations in the town for the same visit (222:1). From a description by Vondel (222:2) it appears that Flinck's four sketches, hastily executed in 1659, were small (222:3-5). In November of the same year a contract was signed with him for the painting of twelve pieces. (8 concerning the Batavian insurrection (c. 5,50 × 5,40 m). The painter bound himself to deliver two paintings a year) (222:6). In February 1660 Flinck died. In our opinion he Ga naar margenoot+left an almost completed canvas of the first scene (The Conspiracy, 223:1-2), besides the four sketches mentioned above.

In June 1660 there was a second visit by members of the house of Orange, amongst whom was the then nine year old son of William II (the later King and Stadtholder William III) (223:4).

The captions Vondel wrote in honour of the event for two of the scenes have been handed down to us by Von Zesen (223:5). Two drawings by Ga naar margenoot+Flinck are still known to us (Pl. 81 & 76:1) (224:1).

Commissions given to Rembrandt, Lievens and Jordaens. After Flinck's death the commission was not given in its entirety to one artist. Most probably Rembrandt was the first to be chosen for painting the first scene of the series, the nocturnal conspiracy (224:2). His painting must have Ga naar margenoot+been installed before July 21, 1662, the date of Fokkens' dedication for his ‘Description of Amsterdam’, in which book he mentions Rembrandt's work as hanging in the gallery.

In 1661 Lievens delivered his ‘Brinio raised upon the shield’ (Pl. 77:1) (225:2-4). In 1662 Jordaens received payment in Antwerp for three paintings Ga naar margenoot+(226:6) and also expressions of great appreciation (226:7-8); in 1664 he delivered a fourth canvas. The subject of two of these four paintings is an event from the Batavian rebellion (Pl. 87:1-2) (226:1-2).

Difficulties with Rembrandt. Thus after July 1662 the four subjects provisionally executed by Flinck had been painted to scale (i.e. one by Rembrandt, one by Lievens, and two by Jordaens). Meanwhile difficulties had arisen with Rembrandt which resulted in his taking back the painting. On August 28, 1662, Rembrandt concluded a contract, which can hardly refer to any work than the ‘Civilis’, and according to which the other party should receive one fourth of the amount Rembrandt would obtain for ‘the piece delivered to the Town Hall’ or shall still obtain through repainting it (226:3-5). From transactions with Lievens and Jordaens we know however, that the burgomasters were disinclined to pay for repainting! Rembrandt must then have taken back the canvas (Pl. 84:1). Its further adventures are only known in part (226:6).

Flinck's canvas completed by Ovens. In September 1662 once more exalted guests were expected (226:7).

In order to fill the first empty space the burgomasters commissioned

Ovens to complete Flinck's old, unfinished canvas within four days (Pl. 82) (226:8).

Ga naar margenoot+For this Ovens received only ƒ 48.- (227:1). Since then that work occupies the place designed for Rembrandt's canvas. Drawings of the same subject (227:2) and a ‘Battle of Xanten’ (227:3) both by Ovens are also known (Pl. 83:1 & 80); he received only one more commission for a painting over the fire place (227:5-6).

Ga naar margenoot+In 1697 Le Grand, an Antwerp master otherwise unknown (228:2), painted in fresco a fifth and a sixth scene (‘Erection of the trophies’ and ‘Negotiations on the demolished bridge’) (Pl. 48:1). At the same time we hear of the necessary restoration of the four works completed first. These had suffered owing to the dampness of the walls (228:3-4).

Ga naar margenoot+In an altogether unfounded argument Noach has attempted to prove that the disappearance of Rembrandt's ‘Conspiracy’ is due only to a change in the shape of the vault during building operations. According to him a conflict between the nature of the commission and Rembrandt's solution never existed. (We give the refutation of Noach's method of argument in note 229:1).

In our opinion a difference of conception is definitely discernible. This thesis must now be proved. For the Amsterdam burgomasters the Vaenius-Tempesta oeuvre of prints was the example par excellence (229:2-3).

Ga naar margenoot+We find again and again that the difference between an accepted and a rejected sketch is mainly that the solution preferred by the burgomasters was more in accordance with ‘the book’ of the learned Vaenius. E.g. the various sketches for the ‘Raising of Brinio upon the shield’ (Pl. 75, 76:1, 77:1 & 3) (230:1), the ‘Battle of Xanten’ (Pl. 79 & 47:3) (230:2), the ‘Conspiracy’ (Pl. 83:2 & 81, 82) (the last example also indicates the absence of any influence of the paintings by Vaenius in the Hague) (Pl. 74:1-3).

Vondel mentions the series of prints as a source in the preface to his tragedy ‘The Batavian brothers’, 1663 (230:3). It is certainly going too far to conclude that Vondel drew up these plans, as has become the customary opinion in international history of art (230:4). Rather should Burgomaster Cornelis de Graeff be regarded as the auctor intellectualis (230:5).

Ga naar margenoot+Rembrandt's conception of his task; influence of Raphael. Rembrandt also will have been familiar with Tempesta's prints (Pl. 88) (231:1-2). Influence (231:3-4). In Rembrandt's mind the commission of a nocturnal conspiracy of dining Batavians belonged to the old, venerable theme of Last Supper representations. His solution did not fail to leave its mark (231:3). He himself studied among other things Raphael's ‘Meeting of Leo I and Attila (231:6-8) in connection with the problem of decorating a round-headed panel. The round canopy above the table in the drawing H.d.G. 411 (Pl. 86:1) Ga naar margenoot+is probably a free application of the equally space-creating element

of the cupolas in Raphael's ‘Expulsion of Helidorus from the temple’ (232:1). We discuss some of Rembrandt's solutions to the problem of the relations of figures and space (Pl. 85 & 86) (‘Nahsicht’ or ‘Fernsicht’, 232:2).

Rembrandt's interest in the subject. Only Rembrandt represents the oath, taken ‘barbaro ritu’ according to Tacitus, as being upon the sword (232:3). Rembrandt's studious nature (the busts of Roman emperors in his ‘kunstcamer’ were arranged in chronological order! 232:4).

Ga naar margenoot+Rembrandt reads and digests the passages from Tacitus which were quoted in Vaenius-Tempesta. His Civilis is one-eyed, a detail mentioned by Tacitus but ignored by all other artists (233:1), probably for reasons of ‘convenienza’. Thus he very soon acquired the reputation of being no great historical painter (233:2).

Reasons for the refusal. There was a great contrast between Rembrandt's sense of beauty and that of the society of his day (233:3). Very consciously and with averted eyes the artist passed by all that was new and radiant in the growing and flourishing city of Amsterdam (233:4). His aesthetic and ethical predilection for that which was poor, rugged and decayed (233:5) formed the most complete contrast with the world of thought and form belonging to the heroworship of the Renaissance. The immediate cause of the removal may have been the demand to repaint the picture (233:6), the real reason lay deeper. In 1891 an investigator might still think that the burgomasters ‘had expected a more dramatic scene showing greater Germanic excitement’ (233:8). It now appears that a difference of conception Ga naar margenoot+lies at the root of that which in those days seemed incidental. Our task is to comprehend the point of view of both parties. So far the discussion of Rembrandt's Claudius Civilis has been conducted almost without exception in the form of a requisitory in which either persons (234:1), ideas, or trends were held responsible for the mutilation of what undoubtedly must have been one of the most profound and elaborate of Dutch works of art. Modern depreciation of the subject is not historical, neither was it shared by the artists of that day (234:1-2).

Ga naar margenoot+Neumann's criticism that Vondel and the burgomasters failed to appreciate the value of the Dutch school of paintings cannot form the basis for a Ga naar margenoot+discussion of this problem (236:1). The demand for the portrayal of exalted subjects was a general one (236:2) and monumental art was called upon to supply it. The tendency to depreciate everything that was current and valid in all Europe as a typical expression of the Dutch ‘grocers mentality’, is hardly a satisfactory solution of the underlying problems (236:3).

Ga naar margenoot+Dutch art was isolated wholly aloof from international trends. Rembrandt's exceptional position in this respect was exceptional, he was well versed in the development of international art and understood the essential part of the great solutions before his own; his imagination was unfettered

and no scale too large for him. His failure must not be ascribed to negative, but to positive characteristics. His yearning for ‘Entheroisierung’, was one of the most profound sources of his artistic genius (237:2). Disconcerted by the sight of his conspiring bargemen and peat-carriers, his contempories were unable to appreciate the solemn consecration of this confederacy.

IX. Pseudo-historical representations

Ga naar margenoot+To this group we ascribe all representations which were considered historical by contemporaries, but can now no longer lay claim to that title.

Two instances: A) later interpretation stamps an existing work as the illustration of an historical event. B) Representations of events which contemporaries unquestioningly accepted as historical, but which are now no longer regarded as such.

A. Later changes in titles

Rembrandt's ‘Adolf van Gelder’ is a typical example of these changes in titles, arising from the tendency of the 18th and 19th centuries to search for events in national history, which would be interesting to illustrate. The work is intended to represent ‘Samson threatening his father-in-law’ (Pl. 89:2). Asselijn's ‘Swan’ was afterwards known as the ‘Allegory of the Ga naar margenoot+vigilance of Johan de Witt’ and in 1800, still bearing that title, it was the first work to be bought for the ‘Nationale Konst-gallery’ which had just been founded (240:1).

During a considerable part of the 18th and 19th centuries an ‘Interior with staircase’, probably by C. Fabritius, was supposed to represent the staircase in Delft, where William the Silent was murdered (Pl. 89:1) Ga naar margenoot+(241:1-2).

To this group also belong the instances in which interesting names were attached to portraits of unknown persons. Some of these mystifications still hold sway; e.g. so-called portraits of Roemer Visscher's daughters (241:3) or the portrait-print after one of the physicians of Rembrandt's Ga naar margenoot+‘Anatomical lesson’ entitled Jan Swammerdam (242:1).

B. Representations of pseudo-historical events

In the period under discussion there is a gradual increase in the critical sense of history and a proportionate decrease in the belief in pseudo-historical legends and miracle-tales; the production of illustrations of such stories, however, does not decline in the same degree. These subjects having been absorbed by popular imagination, were greatly in vogue.

Ga naar margenoot+I. The taking of Damiate by a Haarlem cockboat (cf. p. 30); presumed date

1188 (243:1). From the second decade of the 16th century onwards there is an uninterrupted series of works of art depicting this exploit (243:2). Ga naar margenoot+Stained-glass windows presented by Haarlem to several cities ‘because much Haarlem ale was drunk there’ (244:2-4); sometimes also to influential persons (244:5). In 1595 the window in Haarlem designed by B.v. Orley was altered, probably for religious reasons (244:6). An ‘Adoration Ga naar margenoot+of the Holy Trinity’ was replaced by an ‘Addition to the coat of arms’ (245:1-3). In the same year a print with the taking of Damiate appeared (Pl. 90) (245:4); small boats (245:5-6) and bells (245:7) of Damiate of common occurrence. In 1595 also a gift of a stained-glass window to Gouda was made. (Pl. 92) (245:8).

Ga naar margenoot+In 1603 Vroom (246:1-2) made sketches for stained-glass windows with this subject (246:3); in 1611 a loan was made to the same artist for a painting (probably never executed 246:4). Note also a window by Jan van Ga naar margenoot+Bouckhorst in the Town Hall at Haarlem (246:5) and a painting by C.C. van Wieringen (247:1) who also designed a tapestry (Pl. 91) (247:2-4); further a tapestry with the ‘Addition to the coat of arms’ after De Grebber, Ga naar margenoot+(Pl. 10:2) (247:5-6), and a painting by the same artist 1630 (248:1) (Pl. 11). Other works for churches in the neighbourhood (248:2). Book illustrations (Pl. 93:2) (248:3-5), medals (248:6).

Comparison of the various representations. The print of 1595 (Pl. 90) Ga naar margenoot+shows all kinds of explicative accessories and legends from which we may infer that it was not at all the idea to give the public a peepshow of the past. Such a conception did not appear until the 19th century. The print by Ga naar margenoot+Romein de Hooghe (Pl. 93:2) shows the ‘Addition to the coat-of-arms’ in the foreground, and in the background the ‘Capture of Damiate’.

From this it also follows that we may not imagine a realistic connection between the two scenes depicted; these occurred at different dates and in places far apart from each other. It is a remarkable f act that in the second half of the 17th century and in the secular genre of historical pictures we still meet with such a ‘mediaeval’ simultaneity. Comparison with 16th century Italian works which treat similar subjects (Pl. 93:1).

II. ‘Dance round the church at Assendelft’ print by J. Saenredam (Pl. 94:1) (252:2). There is no local tradition concerning dancing mania (253:1-2), Ga naar margenoot+but a German legend exists which is localized in Kolbeck (Pl. 94:2) (253:3-4). Probably Saenredam wished to depict that well known tale, and chose the familiar church of his native village as background. This sort Ga naar margenoot+of thing could still be done at the end of the 16th century without the spectators concluding that the event depicted had taken place in that particular village. That conclusion was not drawn until a later date when greater documentary value was ascribed to works of art; in order to render the matter more evident the legend ‘Assendelft’ was then placed above the church (254:1). Thus this instance, unimportant in itself, provides an

interesting example of the development which the appreciation of imagery as such underwent in the course of time.

III. Women of Haarlem (Weinsberg). The popular motif of women carrying their most cherished possessions on their backs to safety after a siege, is localized in many cities, most frequently in Weinsberg (254:2). This legend is first connected with Haarlem by Junius 1588 (254:3). Painting by J.C. van 't Woudt ‘Weinsberg’ 1602 (Pl. 95:1) (254:4), also a print by J. de Gheyn (Pl. 95:2) (254:5) and other works (254:6, 255:1).

Ga naar margenoot+Although in historical works this tale was also located in Haarlem as early as 1588, it was not until 1754 that an illustration which had originally served as ‘Weinsberg’ was renamed ‘Haarlem’ (255:2-3).

IV. The child in the cradle (St. Elisabeth's Flood). On the border between legend and history stands the tale of the child m a cradle which together with a cat was supposed to have escaped drowning in St. Elisabeth's flood (1421). The question of its historicity is of little importance for our purpose, which is to observe how such a matter was depicted in the course of time. First mentioned in the itinerary of Chrysostom of Naples (1514) (255:5-6), the tale is not a motive well-known in folklore (255:7), although later on it is to be found in several other places in the Netherlands (255:8). In a Ga naar margenoot+painting of c. 1480 (Pl. 96:1) (256:1-4) the cradle with cat and child appears as a minute, subordinate detail of little importance (256:5). Three other representations before 1628 (Pl. 96:2) (256:6-8) and a description (1692) of an older painting of the St. Elisabeth's Flood (256:9) do not mention the story at all.

The historiography of that period shows the same lack of interest (256:10-11). Not until 1677 was more attention bestowed upon it (256:12). Even in Ga naar margenoot+a print added as an illustration by Romein de Hooghe (Pl. 97) (after a drawing by Houbraken 257:2, who had followed an older painting 257:1), only a very modest place was given to the babe and cat in the cradle’. Jan Luyken supplied the first elaborate illustration of a similar tale (Pl. 98:1) (257:7), Ga naar margenoot+this time localized in the province of Groningen; the print was afterwards also used to illustrate St. Elisabeth's Flood (258:1). In the 18th century influence (258:3-4) and criticism vary (258:5). It remained for the 19th century to celebrate the touching story in prints and verse! (Pl. 99 & 98:2) (258:5-6).

Ga naar margenoot+V. Judgment of Count William III the good ‘A.D. 1336’.

The representations of this subject are the most important in this chapter because of their frequency, the quality of the works still in existence, and the remarkable traditions.

Ga naar margenoot+The tale: A sheriff robs a farmer of a cow, but gives him another instead.

Ga naar margenoot+The farmer complains to the count. The count who happens to be ill sends for the sheriff and has him executed in the sickroom. Paintings of this subject appear in the ‘court of justice’ of almost every town in Holland. Whence this popularity?

Ga naar margenoot+Other traditional subjects for the decoration of a tribunal were taken from: the Christian faith (261:1), biblical history (261:2-4), classical history (261:5-9). The paintings by Rogier van der Weyden in the Town Hall at Brussels were generally admired until their destruction, 1695 (261:11). Their subject was the legend of Erkenbaldus (after Caesarius of Heisterbach): Ga naar margenoot+on his deathbed Erkenbaldus of Burdan kills his nephew and successor who had misbehaved and whom he had condemned to death shortly before; the sentence however had not been executed. He will not confess this deed as a sin, and the Host, refused to him for that reason, miraculously flies into his mouth (262:1). This tale is an example of theological literature as are those concerning just heathens (262:2); e.g. the story of Trajan represented by Rogier in the same series (262:3-4).

Ga naar margenoot+Through transference to a secular context the main theme, originally a miracle of the Host comes to be interpreted as the type of a legal judgement. Apart from the subjects mentioned above the national past now appears also (263:1).

Rogier's work can be partly reconstructed from descriptions (263:3) and the tapestries in Berne (263:5). Other works dealing with the same subject Ga naar margenoot+are the following: a tapestry in Brussels (Pl. 102) (for the church of St. Peter at Louvain, miracle of the Host principal part) (264:2), and a painting at Cologne (Pl. 103) (264:3) (for ‘court of justice’ there principal parts: execution). Influence of Rogier's paintings (264:4): e.g. paintings in the Ga naar margenoot+Town Hall at Nuremberg (265:1); print by Aldegrever (Pl. 101:2) and clearest: an anonymous N. Neth. painting (c. 1530) for the Town Hall at Hoorn (Pl. 101:1) (265:2). The two women in the background on the right give a better idea of the original composition of Rogier than the compressed composition of the tapestry at Berne, where these two figures have been squeezed together. Further influence is apparent in the Alexander tapestry from Tournai (265:3-4), which represents a scene infrequently Ga naar margenoot+depicted elsewhere, also culminating in an execution by a dying man (266:1).

Owing to the fame of the Brussels paintings it became possible to regard the theme of an execution in a deathchamber as obligatory for the genre of the paintings for courts of justice. The choice of the actual subject moreover allowed modulations. The story of the judgment of Count William, authentic or not (266:3-4), presented that possibility.

Ga naar margenoot+There are various representations: a painting by Isaac Swanenburg, Leiden 1582 (267:2); a print by Willem Swanenburg after Wtewael, 1606 Ga naar margenoot+(Pl. 104:1) (267:3); a print by Barth. Dolendo, 1613 (Pl. 104:2 & 105) Ga naar margenoot+(269:1; this print is the example for many prints and even paintings); a

Ga naar margenoot+painting by Claes Heck, Alkmaar 1618 (Pl. 106:1) (270:2); drawings by Buytewech, 1618/19 (Pl. 108/110) (272:1-7, 273:1-3); an anonymous Ga naar margenoot+painting in the Town Hall at Naarden, c. 1619 (Pl. 106:2) (273:4-5); Ga naar margenoot+an anonymous painting in the Town Hall at Gorinchem 1624 (after Dolendo's Ga naar margenoot+print) (Pl. 107); a stained glass window by Pieter Couwenhorn, Leiden Ga naar margenoot+1627/28 (Pl. 111:2); a play by Goudanus 1630 (Pl. 112); a print by Salomon Ga naar margenoot+Savery ± 1640; etchings by Cl. J. Visscher ± 1650; an anonymous copy Ga naar margenoot+after Savery; a painting by N. van Galen in the Town Hall at Hasselt (near Ga naar margenoot+Kampen) 1657 (Pl. 111:3); an illustration by Romein de Hooghe to Balen, Ga naar margenoot+Beschrijving van Dordrecht 1677 (Pl. 114); a play by Simon Rivier 1782.

Ga naar margenoot+VI. The Judgment of Charles the Bold.

This story is a pendant to the previous tale; here a woman's defiled virtue is the well-known theme (281:1). Sources (281:2), various versions Ga naar margenoot+(281:3-5; Cats 281:6, Rodenburg 281:7). The subject was not popular for courts of justice (282:1); Van de Venne's illustration to Cats (Pl. 115:1) (282:2). Only one 17th century print of the judgement is known to us, i.e. the pendant to the copy after Savery's ‘Judgment of Count William (282:3) dealt with on pp. 278/9. It is a remarkable fact that the story, so much more probable, of the Judgment of Charles the Bold, which certainly was not less well known than the Judgment of Count William III, was nevertheless portrayed far less frequently. The explanation must be sought in the influence of Rogier's paintings at Brussels, by means of which the motif of an execution in a sickroom was preferred for courts of justice (283:1). Ga naar margenoot+This predilection did not hold good for 19th century literary products, and consequently we there find a prevalence of the other theme also known in other countries (283:2-5).

VII. Execution of Gerard van Velsen.

A third equally sanguinary, and equally unhistorical theme (283:6), Ga naar margenoot+which was commonly known by means of an old historical song (284:1), is the execution of Gerard van Velsen. Scriverius (1612) already knew that the rape of a woman in the opening verses had been introduced to provide a motive for the historical conspiracy of the nobles of Holland to murder Count Florence V (284:2). The punishment of Van Velsen, one of the conspirators, who was said to have been rolled in a barrel lined with nails, is also unhistorical (284:3). The historical song, included in 1591 by the publisher of Stoke (284:4), gave rise to literary adaptations: Duym, Hooft Ga naar margenoot+(284:5; who in his tragedy mainly follows Pontanus, 285:1), Sixtinus (285:2) and Colevelt (285:3). We have already indicated above (p. 77) that this tale owed its popularity mainly to the similarity of the executions of Van Velsen and Regulus. Popular imagination has an extremely imperfect knowledge of its own history, but its memory for ancient themes which,

constantly changing their titles, take the place of historical events, is the stronger for it. There are parallels in folklore for the motif of violation (285:4); in pictorial tradition there are parallels with representations of Regulus' execution (Pl. 117:1-2) (285:5).

Representations of Van Velsen's execution are: an illustration to Wachtendorp (cf. p. 80), e.g. with a hennin worn by a man; illustrations to Van Ga naar margenoot+Domselaer (Pl. 116:1 & 117:3) (ed. 1664 and '65; 286:1-3), copies after these prints in Commelin (ed. 1693 and 1726; 286:4-5), print by Sillemans (Pl. 116:2) (286:6), entirely similar to his prints discussed above concerning the judgments of William the Good and Charles the Bold. Unlike the first- mentioned subject, there are no painted versions of this story.

Two drawings by Pieter Quast, which certainly must have undergone the immediate influence of the theatre (Pl. 118:1-2) (286:7-9).

VIII. The Countess of Henneberg and her 365 children.

Ga naar margenoot+The story of the Countess of Henneberg, who had mocked the marital fidelity of a beggar-woman carrying twins on her arm, and who on Good Friday by way of punishment had given birth to 365 well-shaped children the size of mice, belongs - with variations as to names, year of the event, and number of children - to the stock repertory of all writers on the Netherlands.

In this strange tale, localized in Loosduinen, two parts can be discerned. A: The motif, common in European folklore, of an inordinately large number Ga naar margenoot+of children by way of punishment for an allegation of adultery (287:2-3 & 288:1) and B: the motif of ‘as many children as there are days in the year’. The explanation of the Loosduinen miracle is to be found in chronology. Calculating according to the Easter style it was possible to say of a woman who had given birth to twins on Good Friday that she had borne as many children as there were (still) days in the year (288:2). The interesting story created by this misconception was retold for centuries (288:3), and as late as the 17th century, in spite of Erasmus' warning, barren women travelled to the church at Loosduinen, which for many years had been Protestant, to throw their handkerchiefs against the two fonts which were hung up in the church (Pl. 119) (288:4-5). Until the beginning of the 18th century one of the children, preserved in spirits, was to be seen in the Royal Antiquities Room at Copenhagen (288:7), and a painting in the pilgrimage chapel on the Thierberg near Kufstein (Tyrol) is still in existence to-day (288:8).

In contrast with this painting the small Dutch print by P. Kaerius dating from the first quarter of the 17th century (Pl. 118:3) (288:9) shows no reminiscences of the Roman Catholic milieu in which the event was supposed to have taken place. In this case fear of giving offence led to the omission of essential details frequently used in the description. Some copies of this Ga naar margenoot+representation of the story of the Countess of Henneberg still exist. (289:1-2)

IX. The Mermaid, caught in the Purmer c. 1403.

This legend is another occurrence enjoying international fame and was for instance depicted in Guicciardini (Pl. 118:3). Probably a ‘gevelsteen’ (carving in the gable) had set the imagination working (289:4). Until far into the 17th century the various monsters and monstrosities were dealt Ga naar margenoot+with in fat folios (290:1), and the existence of sea monsters in particular appeared to be scientifically well-founded (in view of the proposition made by Pliny that the sea is a realm in itself, in which all the creatures of the land and the air are mutatis mutandis to be found also (291:2). The most remarkable in this respect are the widely known tales about sea bishops Ga naar margenoot+(Pl. 120 & pl. in text p. 139) (290:3 and 291:1-2).

Recapitulation

Coming to the end of the discussion of these old wives' tales which formerly filled many volumes, we will once more review what are the results for our investigations of chapter IX in particular (Pseudo-historical representations).

In the first place the division into pseudo-historical representations and representations of pseudo-historical facts put us on the track of the revised naming so characteristic of the early 19th century, by means of which many existing works of art received more interesting names. In a few cases it was found that the influence of these falsifications has remained until the present day e.g. the portraits of Roemer Visscher's daughters).

Amongst the pseudo-historical facts which in the period under discussion were considered to be of particular importance, the miracle tales formed a separate group. Together with the pseudo-historical stories devoid of all supernatural elements this group presented a series of motifs which in art were treated with conspicuously greater frequency than most subjects historically unassailable. This fact alone made a detailed investigation necessary.

The reasons why these pseudo-historical tales were preferably depicted appeared to be of diverse nature.

In the case of the ‘Taking of Damiate’ (p. 243) civic pride, which elsewhere too had given official commissions in order to glorify local rights and to propagate local interests, eagerly made use of the legendary story of the circumstances in which the citizens of Haarlem had acquired the additions to their city-shield of arms.

To an entirely different category belongs the ‘Dance round the church at Assendelft’ (p. 252) which however was only depicted in one work of art. This isolated case might just as well be assigned to the group of pseudo-historical representations, were it not that in that group an interesting name was consciously given to a representation originally made for a different purpose. In Saenredam's print of the country dance on the other

hand we are concerned with a representation intended from the first as an illustration of the event. The complication is merely that Saenredam staged this folkloristic theme in his native Assendelft. Only later, when this type of representation was wrongly supposed to possess documentary exactitude, could the idea arise that an event as depicted by the artist, had actually taken place at Assendelft.

The ‘Women of Haarlem’ (p. 254) is in a sense the pendant to the preceding case. In the first instance a local legend founded on a wrongly interpreted representation grew up; in the second the migration of a motif well known elsewhere (Weinsberg) caused a representation originally belonging to that better known version also to undergo this transplantation.

In the successive representations of ‘St. Elisabeth's flood’ (p. 255) the remarkable fact is revealed that certain features, which from the first were present in literary tradition, were not depicted in art until centuries later (i.e. the saving of a baby in a cradle, thanks to the sagacity of a cat). Of the reasons, which in such cases can of course never be reduced to one or two concrete causes, the following are the most important factors. Firstly: In general it was not until the Romantic Movement that any feeling arose for the dramatic aspect of such a situation. But especially: in the iconographical tradition there were no analogies by means of which the representation of this sort of event would have been encouraged. (We believe that the opposite of this may be observed in the ‘Torture of Gerard van Velsen’).

That the ‘Judgment of Count William III’ is represented by such a large group of works of art, proved to be due to the tendency to decorate the courts of justice with a national occurrence in addition to the famous biblical or classical scenes of trial and judgement. That this subject was finally chosen in many instances in preference to those other foreign stories, is a development which can be accounted for. It is a remarkable thing in the whole course of events, that the choice of this particular national subject seems to be determinded by the theme's iconographical resemblance (execution in a sickroom), to a subject that had been treated in the most famous work of art of that day, which was in the Town Hall of the capital (Rogier van der Weyden's ‘Herkenbald’).

Representations of the ‘Judgment of Charles the Bold’ (p. 281), which thematically is closely related to the preceding tale, are iconologically wholly dependant upon the previous group. The subject is not treated by art until the other subject, well known from the pieces in the Town Halls, makes its appearance in the homes of citizens. The iconographical development remains entirely parallel for a considerable time (pendants!) This story however became of greater importance to literature because of its piquant content (a woman's virtue as against the exchange of a cow).

The ‘Downfall of Gerard van Velsen’ (p. 283) was an historical subject to which various legendary details also known elsewhere had become at-

tached (revenged female virtue, torture in a barrel lined with nails). The first detail brings the story into close relationship with that of the judgment of Charles the Bold. By means of the second adaptation the representations of this tale were able to link up with an existing pictorial tradition (Regulus).

In the legend of the ‘Countess of Henneberg and her 365 children’ (p. 287) we became acquainted with a motif which, although its particular form arose from an unique subtle formulation (365 children), had a wellknown core (punishment for mockery). The extraordinary popularity of the subject is out of all proportion to the few small representations known to us. Thus this instance is a clear example of the fact that in the period under discussion these subjects above all were of ten depicted which were of social importance and might therefore lead to official commissions (grant of the city arms) decorations for courts of justice etc.

The miracle tale of the ‘Mermaid of the Purmer’ (p. 289) presents us with the insolvable problem as to whether a work of art with traditional contents (mermaid) had led to the formation of a legend, or whether works of art were actually created to illustrate a local legend.

Finally a review of the current opinions concerning the pseudo-historical apparitions ‘Seamonk and Seabishop’ (p 290) which in the Netherlands too were often depicted, gave us a good insight into the earnestness with which in the period under discussion these unnatural matters were treated.