Isaac Sweers, Vice Admiral of the Admiralty of Holland and West Friesland 1673 - 1674

This is Rombout Verhulst’s sculpted bust of Isaac Sweers, Vice Admiral of the Admiralty of Holland and West Friesland. Seventeenth-century Holland was a mercantile power, and its admirals were national heroes. Sweers led a daring life in service of the state, battling the English on the high seas. His swaggering portrait, all flowing locks and confident gaze, projects the power and status of the Dutch military elite. But this portrait is a fabrication, in a sense. Sweers died in 1673, and it is unknown if Verhulst ever saw him in person. This image was likely commissioned by the Sweers family to burnish the family’s reputation. Busts like these were often displayed in the gardens of country estates, or in the entry halls of prominent homes. The historian seeks to understand not just the artwork, but the complex web of patronage and social pressures that brought it into being. Examining family archives, state records, and period publications can reveal the fascinating social life of art.