Pieter Adriaanszoon van de Werf, burgemeester van Leiden, biedt aan zijn linkerarm af te hakken, 1574 1785 - 1787

Editor: Okay, next up we have "Pieter Adriaanszoon van de Werf, burgemeester van Leiden, biedt aan zijn linkerarm af te hakken, 1574" created between 1785 and 1787 by Jacobus Buys. It’s a pen and ink drawing housed at the Rijksmuseum. It strikes me as particularly intense and, dare I say, a little unsettling. What do you make of this scene? Curator: Well, let’s start by thinking about what’s *not* immediately obvious. It's an ink drawing of a dramatic, pivotal moment in Leiden's history during the Siege. Van der Werf offering himself – his literal flesh – when the city was starving... that's not just politics; that's raw humanity. It mirrors, perhaps unconsciously, echoes of sacrifice in earlier religious works. Jacobus Buys wasn't just rendering history, he was crafting a legend! What strikes you about the composition itself? Editor: The figures are so tightly packed together; there’s hardly any breathing room. It makes the whole scene feel incredibly claustrophobic. Curator: Precisely! Look at the way the artist used the ink to create areas of shadow and light. Do you notice where our eye is drawn first? The spotlight is on Van der Werf's face. He has such an intense, defiant gaze that draws you right in. A theatrical stage perhaps, a very well directed tragic performance. Editor: It feels very Baroque, like a staged drama. I suppose it’s also about power, sacrifice, civic duty. Curator: It is, indeed! This drawing wasn't created *during* the siege, remember. It's a late 18th-century *reflection* on a foundational story for Dutch identity. What Buys gives us isn't necessarily *historical truth,* it's potent mythology. Editor: That adds a whole new layer to it. It's not just the scene itself but how people *later* wanted to remember it. Thank you so much for this analysis, it was illuminating. Curator: My pleasure. Now, think about the *viewer's* role centuries on... history lives through imagination, doesn't it?