Portret van Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer before 1867

This is a portrait of Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, contained within the pages of a book. Though the artist is anonymous, the subject, Groen van Prinsterer, was a significant 19th-century Dutch politician and historian known for his conservative Protestant beliefs. The portrait appears alongside text discussing the relationship between religious nationalism and evangelical alliance within the Netherlands. Groen van Prinsterer's life was deeply intertwined with the religious and political tensions of his time, as Europe grappled with industrialization, secularization, and the rise of nationalism. He believed in the importance of a religiously grounded national identity, and opposed the liberal, secularizing forces he saw as threatening traditional values. This small portrait encapsulates a larger struggle to define national identity. It reflects the debates about religion, politics, and the very soul of the Netherlands during a period of profound transformation.