Start of Batavian Republic – Carel Frederik Bendorp, 1795

ALLEGORY OF THE NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, 1795

“De Conventie”, copper engraving executed by Carel Frederik Bendorp after a drawing by Bakker and published in Rotterdam by J.H. and G.J. Derens & Co. in 1795. Coloured by a later hand. Size: 34.2 × 40.6 cm.

In the final two decades of the eighteenth century, the Dutch Republic was marked by severe political unrest. This was the era of the Patriots and their opponents, the Orangists. Tensions culminated in a Prussian intervention in 1787 in support of the stadholder, William V, followed by a French invasion in 1794. With French backing, the Batavian Republic was proclaimed in 1795, bringing an end to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.

At the centre of this revolutionary allegory stands the “Dutch Seat” (Nederlandsche Zetel), the empty throne of the old order, guarded by a lion and now claimed by the citizen. At the direction of the personification of Liberty—identifiable by the pike topped with a liberty cap—he ascends the seat, not as a monarch, but as a representative of the people. The legitimacy of this transfer of power is made explicit: above the scene, three hovering genii display the fundamental articles upon which the citizen swears his oath—the Rights of Man, the Abolition of All Hereditary Dignities, and the Sovereignty of the People.

The inscription beneath the image stresses that this authority is not acquired arbitrarily, but rests upon voluntary consent and devotion to the common good. To the left appear the crafts, agriculture, and the liberal arts, symbolising the productive forces of the nation, united around the seat of power in harmony and hope for a better future. Their union and expectation are proclaimed by the trumpet-blowing Fame on the right, while the cornucopia in the foreground signifies the abundance resulting from this new political order.

On the right in the foreground, an armed warrior breaks the yoke of oppression, a direct reference to the casting off of tyranny and old constraints. In the background, the armed civic guard stands assembled as the protector of newly won freedom.

Literature: Frederik Muller “Nederlandsche historieplaten” (1863-1882), no. 5379-2.

Price: Euro 375,-
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