Description
Wilhem Baerdesen (1528–1601), also known as Willem Bardesius, was a member of an old Amsterdam regent family who became one of the city’s leading reformers during the Dutch Revolt. Educated in the humanist tradition at Leuven, he was drawn early to Protestant ideas and civic reform. He fled Amsterdam in 1567 to escape the repression of the Duke of Alva, the representative of the Spanish Catholic king Philip II. From exile, he supported William of Orange and worked in the northern provinces to advance the cause of the revolt.
On May 26, 1578, the Alteratie (Eng. Alteration) took place in Amsterdam — the peaceful change of power in which the Catholic city government was deposed in favor of a Protestant one. Baerdesen returned and became one of the first Protestant burgemeesters (mayors). Though firmly aligned with the Reformation, he governed with moderation, helping to shape a policy of practical tolerance that allowed dissenting faiths to exist privately as long as public order was maintained. His long service in office established a model of civic stability and religious coexistence that became a hallmark of Amsterdam and, later, of the Dutch Republic itself.
Jacob Houbraken (1698–1780) was a Dutch engraver celebrated for his masterful portrait prints that combined precision, elegance, and historical insight. Born in Dordrecht as the son of the painter and biographer Arnold Houbraken, he was trained in his father’s workshop and absorbed both artistic technique and a deep interest in the lives of notable figures. Settling in Amsterdam, Jacob became the foremost portrait engraver of his time, producing refined likenesses of scholars, statesmen, and artists that reflected the intellectual spirit of the Enlightenment.
Houbraken’s reputation grew through his collaborations with historians and publishers, most notably Jan Wagenaar, whose monumental Vaderlandsche historie (1749–1759) presented the story of the Dutch Republic in a richly illustrated format. For this project, Houbraken supplied engraved portraits of the leading figures of Dutch history, translating the painted tradition of the Golden Age into the printed page. His meticulous lines and balanced compositions gave the work both authority and visual grace, ensuring that the faces of the Dutch past reached a wide reading public. Through this partnership, Houbraken became not only an artist of great technical skill but also a visual historian of the Dutch nation.
- Title on print: “Mr. Willem Bardesius. Burgemeester en Raad der Stad Amsterdam, na de Reformatie, Anno 1578. J. Houbraken sculps. na de Tekening berustende bij de Heer Pieter van den Bogaerde, te Amsterdam. Pinxit 1568.”
- From: Jan Wagenaar, Vaderlandsche historie, Amsterdam, Isaak Tirion, 1749-59.
- Production details on image: “J. Houbraken Sculpsit.”
- Verso: “Doublet”, and stamp of the “Historische Topgrafische Atlas der Gemeente Amsterdam”
- Age and type: c.1750, engraving
- Size: image 18x12cm, sheet 21x14cm
- Condition: excellent; suitable for framing
- Click here for same print in collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
- Click here for same print in collection British Museum, London (proof before letter).
