Portret van Engel de Ruyter 1858 - 1862

This is a lithograph of Engel de Ruyter by Frederik Hendrik Weissenbruch. It is currently held in the Rijksmuseum. Weissenbruch made this print in the 19th century after an earlier painting. The image speaks to a very particular moment in the history of Dutch art when artists were looking back to what they considered the golden age of the 17th century. Notice how Weissenbruch has updated the visual codes of the Dutch Baroque, emphasizing de Ruyter’s status and power through the fine clothes, confident pose, and background imagery of ships at sea. It represents an effort to fashion a narrative of Dutch national identity, looking back to a time of perceived strength. To fully appreciate this artwork, we need to consider the complex forces that shaped artistic production and reception in 19th-century Netherlands. By researching the institutions, social structures, and political movements of the time, we can better understand the artwork's meaning and significance.