Jonge Kees op de Admiraliteit vereerd met een gouden penning, 1652 1722 - 1784

Simon Fokke made this print depicting "Jonge Kees op de Admiraliteit vereerd met een gouden penning" in 1752. It commemorates a moment in 1652 when young Kees was honoured by the Admiralty with a golden medal. But what does this image tell us about the social and political context of the Dutch Republic? We see Kees receiving his award in a formal setting; note the large map on the wall, a symbol of Dutch mercantile power and global reach. The event took place during the First Anglo-Dutch War, a conflict driven by commercial rivalry and control of trade routes. The Admiralty, the governing body of the Dutch navy, would have been a powerful institution. This image suggests the importance of maritime success to Dutch identity. Heroes like Jonge Kees were publicly celebrated, reinforcing national pride and justifying the enormous expense of naval warfare. By studying prints like this, alongside documents from the period, we can start to understand the complex relationship between art, power, and social values in the Dutch Golden Age.