The Personification of Amsterdam Riding on a Triumphal Car in the River IJ

Artist Ludolf Bakhuizen (Dutch, 1630-1708)

CultureDutch

Date1701

MediumEtching on laid paper

Dimensions6 3/4 x 9 1/2 in. (17.1 x 24.1 cm)
Overall, Mat: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
Overall, Frame: 17 1/2 × 21 1/2 in. (44.5 × 54.6 cm)

InscribedVerse below the scene: 'Thus they build here, on the ship-rich IJ, | The queen-post of the state and cities, | For the benefit of the community and the members | Of the East India Company; | So pearls are brought from one land to another, | Where Christ's doctrine was taught, established and took root.'

Credit LinePurchase, with funds provided from the Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Art Purchase Fund

Object number2001.34.1.2

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a set of ten etchings with the title plate. In the foreground the personification of Amsterdam, with the city's coat of arms resting on her knee, is seated in a car drawn by sea-horses and nereids. Neptune, who is clearly favorably disposed towards her, rides on the back of the car with his trident grasped in his hand. On the right is the Amsterdam man-of-war of the Amsterdam Admiralty, across the river from the shipyard and depot (reversed left for right) of the East India Company. The identification of the ship is based not only on the coat of arms on the taffrail, but also on the name 'Amsterdam' written, in mirror image, in the white field of the Prince's flag and in the cartouches over the gunports. -- de Groot & Vorstman, _Marine Prints of the Dutch Masters_, 109.

Label TextLudolf Bakhuizen Dutch, 1630–1708 The River IJ and Seascapes, 1701 Etchings (prints) on laid paper By the 1600s, Western Europe became one of the most technologically advanced regions of the world and its wealth soared. Printmakers produced series celebrating this natural bounty, material abundance, and technological achievement. Here, Ludolf Bakhuizen catalogues the seafaring prowess of his native Holland with a survey of Dutch nautical craft—from men-of-war and royal yachts to mere rowboats—under weather conditions ranging from windless calm to howling tempest. The series begins with the title page, in Dutch, at upper left. The next print depicts the female personification of Amsterdam riding the waves in the city’s harbor in the triumphal car of the sea-god Neptune—a proud declaration of Amsterdam’s role as Holland’s premier port. Museum purchase 2001.34.1.1–.11 ProvenanceAlbert van Loock collection, Brussels, before 1983; Private collection, New York, 1983-2001; Jeffrey Wortman, New York, New York, 2001; Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase, with funds provided from the Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Art Purchase Fund, 2001. Exhibition History"Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006. "Serial Thrillers: The Lure of Old Master Print Series," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 1, 2015 - January 10, 2016.Published ReferencesIrene de Groot and Robert Vorstman, _Marine Prints of the Dutch Masters_ London, 1980, 109-115. Clifford S. Ackley, _Printmaking in the age of Rembrandt_, exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Ma., 1981, 295-297.