Ferdinand Bol

Portrait of Michiel de Ruyter (1607-1676)

585 voorzijde
585 detail signatuur en datering
585 achterzijde
585 ingelijst
585 voorzijde
585 voorzijde

Ferdinand Bol
Portrait of Michiel de Ruyter (1607-1676)

On view in Room 16

Michiel de Ruyter, Admiral of the Dutch Fleet, won a glorious battle against the English in the Four Days’ Battle of 1666. To commemorate this victory, he had his portrait painted by the Amsterdam portraitist Bol. In the background is a seascape with De Ruyter’s flagship.

The portrait is still in its original seventeenth-century frame. It is a gilded trophy frame boasting a wonderful collection of weaponry: drums, flags, cannons and powder kegs. De Ruyter’s coat of arms is displayed in the top centre.

Technical details

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585 voorzijde

Ferdinand Bol
Portrait of Michiel de Ruyter (1607-1676)

On view in Room 16

Upwards

Details

General information
Ferdinand Bol (Dordrecht 1616 - 1680 Amsterdam)
Portrait of Michiel de Ruyter (1607-1676)
painting
585
Room 16
Material and technical details
oil
canvas
157 x 135 cm
Inscriptions
at right, on the balustrade: fBol . fecit. Ao. 1667
fB in ligature

Provenance

Admiralty Chamber, Amsterdam, 1667-1798; 's Lands Zeemagazijn, Amsterdam, 1798-after 1818; Ministry of the Navy, The Hague, after 1818-1894 (until 1889 in the 'marinemodellenkamer', 1889-1894 on loan to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam); acquired by exchange with the Rijksmuseum for another portrait of the same sitter attributed to Bol (Mauritshuis inv. no. 18), 1894