A beloved tale

To Dutch people, and especially to people from Leiden, these images are a familiar sight. In particular, the scene where Mayor Van der Werf points the epee to himself and offers up his own body to the surrounding, hungry crowds, is an old favourite.

The composition looks like the painting Gustav Wappers made for the Levende Meester exhibit in Brussels in 1830 (Fig. 1). King William II was, at the time, so impressed by the painting, he immediately bought it and gifted it to the city of Utrecht, where it found its place at city hall. Soon, the painting became so popular that a lithograph was produced and sold in large quantities. Thus, every patriotic citizen could have the brave sacrifice of the mayor hanging in their very own home.

This suggest that the portraits on the coconut are also copied from/ made after known images. And indeed, the firm expression of commander Jan van der Does was made in the image of an engraving by Cornelis Visscher II from 1649 (Fig. 2). The hat with feathers is also a match.

By now it shouldn’t come as a surprise that William of Orange’s portrait, too, matches a pre-existing 17th century print. The ruff that peaks out of the harness, for example, can also be found in the engraving made by Willem Jacobsz. Delff in 1624, as well the eye-catching pointy beard and carefully groomed moustache (Fig. 3). In short: while the self-sacrificing mayor points to the 19th century, the portraits themselves refer to 17th century examples that yielded, in turn, numerous 19th century imitations.