Portret van Johan Maurits, graaf van Nassau-Siegen 1874

This is Johannes Arnoldus Boland's etching of Johan Maurits, Count of Nassau-Siegen. Though undated, it was likely made towards the end of the 19th century. Boland was a pupil at the State Academy of Visual Arts. Here we see Johan Maurits, governor of Dutch Brazil in the 17th century. The image invokes the memory of Dutch colonial power, at a time when the Netherlands was itself consolidating its overseas empire. Boland’s portrait revives a historical figure in an age of nation-building and imperial expansion. Etchings such as this helped to shape the public memory of Dutch history. The Rijksmuseum has extensive archives relating to the Dutch colonial empire, and further research into the Boland’s prints might reveal more about how this imagery shaped popular attitudes toward Dutch identity and overseas expansion.