Portret van Johannes van der Vlerk, gesneuveld in het vuurgevecht bij Vreeswijk, 1787 1787

This print from 1787, made by an anonymous artist, depicts Johannes van der Vlerk, who died in battle. The image speaks to the political tensions of the Dutch Republic in the late 18th century. Van der Vlerk was a patriot, part of a political movement that sought to limit the power of the Stadtholder, the de facto head of state. The patriots clashed with the Orangists, who supported the Stadtholder. Van der Vlerk died in a skirmish between these factions. The print valorizes Van der Vlerk as a hero, and its visual codes speak to the cultural values of the patriot movement. The image below the portrait is a vanitas still life, replete with imagery of death and decay. As art historians, we can dig deeper into the history of this image by looking into archival sources, newspapers, pamphlets, and other prints from this era.