Antwerp, Dutch general Chassé after the bombardement of 1830 – Hilmar Johannes Backer after Izaak Schouman
€895
DUTCH PROPAGANDA DURING THE BELGIAN REVOLT
“Gezigt op de stad Antwerpen, den dag na het Bombardement, op den 28 October 1830” [View of the City of Antwerp, the Day after the Bombardment, on 28 October 1830], lithograph made in 1832 by Hilmar Johannes Backer after a painting by Izaak Schouman. Coloured by a later hand. Size: 45.7 × 58.7 cm.
In 1815, after the retreat of the French occupiers, William I is crowned king of the Northern and Southern Netherlands.
Fifteen years later, widespread discontent has taken root among the Belgian people. The Catholic south resents having a Protestant king. The French-speaking nobility are irritated that the government operates in Dutch, while liberals believe the king holds too much power and interferes in too many affairs.
In 1830, the Southern Netherlands rise in revolt against King William I. He attempts to suppress the Belgian Revolution.
This lithograph depicts the day after the bombardment of Antwerp by Dutch warships under the command of Dutch General Chassé.
We see General Chassé (centre of the print, in blue uniform) inside the Citadel, surrounded by members of the Council of Defence. The Duke of Saxe-Weimar (to the right of Chassé, with a plume on his hat) is reporting on the outcome of the bombardment. In the background, the city with its still-smouldering bonded warehouses. On the River Scheldt, a squadron of Dutch navy ships, from left to right: the brig De Gier, gunboat no. 4, the corvette Komeet, gunboat no. 2, and the frigate Euridice.
Today, the bombardment of Antwerp would be condemned as a war crime, but the Dutch military staff depicted here seem pleased. Chassé’s order to shell the city prompted French intervention, and in December 1832, the city fell into French hands.
The Netherlands would not recognise Belgian independence until 1839.
Literature: Frederik Muller “Nederlandsche historieplaten” (1863-1882), no. 6519
Price: Euro 895,-
RESERVED
