Jas. H. Todd.
Trinity College, Dublin.
Did not the whole arrangement of the picture give me reason to suppose that it must be a kind of symbolical point (figuurlÿk punt), such as the Rhetoricians were wont to show during their solemn processions—the character also of the additional verses, and especially the description of the paintings against the wall of the room, which is represented on the piece, would corroborate this meaning. These pictures, with the arms mentioned as making part of them, point directly at Haarlem as the town whence the painting must have had its origin; for who is not acquainted, albeit only through the title of the Opregte Haarlemsche Courant[[1]], with, "the sword proper, on a red field, between four stars, surmounted by a cross, or?"
Now, in the seventeenth century there existed at Haarlem three Societies of Rhetoricians. One, the Oude Kamer[[2]], erected in 1503, had chosen for its motto, Trou moet blÿcken; and for its symbol, the pelican or speelkoornen; whilst her shield was emblazoned as follows,—in the middle our Saviour crucified, and, behind the cross, Æneas bearing his father. To this Kamer the painting alludes, of which Dr. James H. Todd says, "That nearest the fire-place is oval, representing the crucifixion. There is a white scroll across the picture, containing words which I cannot make out." Had the sentence not been obliterated, the querist would have read, Trou moet blÿcken. The second allegory, with illegible subscription, cannot be anything but the ensign of the so-called Jonge Kamer at Haarlem, de Wÿngaertrancken, with the symbol, Liefde boven al (Love above all). I presume this on account of the framework of the painting, ornamented on each side with bunches of red grapes (vine-branches) dependent from below. These bunches have been figured in the identical way on a scutcheon of the same Kamer, which is still preserved in the council-hall of Beverwÿk: there also we see, to the right, a female statue representing Faith; and, on the upper part, in the middle, another with a burning heart in her hand, and two (not three) children at her side, representing Charity, who thus has been placed above all the rest, conformably to the motto of the Society. But, in lieu of the third child, stands immediately under her on the Beverwÿk blazon another woman, Rhetorica; and to the left, instead of the man with the hawk (?), another female representing Hope, and completing, in this manner, the Christian trilogy (1 Cor. xiii. 13.). Besides, in the middle compartment, not John Baptist but our Lord is seen, standing as victor over Hell, in which Satan is conspicuous. However, notwithstanding these deviations, I think the resemblance too striking not to consider the painting on the wall as the ensign of the Jonge Kamer. The third or last picture, representing the marriage of Christ with the Church, is the well-known blazon of the third Rederÿkerkamer at Haarlem, surnamed de Flaamsche (the Flemish), which bore the Witte Angieren (white stock-flowers, not lilies), with the motto, In liefd getrouw. This shield too is still preserved in the town-hall at Beverwÿk.
Thus, the three Haarlem Societies of Rhetoricians are represented by their shields in the room designed; nay, if I am not mistaken, the painter has given us a delineation of their meeting-place. This appears: 1. By the statue in the niche, Rhetorica. 2. By the two cup-boards, one of which contains the prizes, carried by the Kamers at various entries and processions; to wit, silver and gold cups, flagons, and dishes: whilst in the other, its books are deposited. 3. By the table under the window, well to be distinguished from that around which the guests are seated, and used by the Rhetoricians as a movable stage, on which to rehearse their plays (whence Willems and Mone derive the name of tafelspel [table-play]). 5. By the broad roller under the pictures, that occupies the space, where otherwise was commonly hung the Keur (statutes) of the Kamer. This last inscription, connected with what is to be read over the fire-place, fully explains the meaning of the whole picture. The lines censure the disputes regarding the dogmata of religion, because every body thinks his conviction the best one; many controversies being carried on "Wanneer het volck is vol" (whilst people are full), by incompetent and illiberal critics, and these contentions alienating their hearts from Charity, the chief commandment of Christ. In a word, the painting is the faithful representation of what the Haarlem Rhetorician, Dirk Volkerts Coornhert, professed
and advocated in his writings. Still the piece belongs to a later period, perhaps between the years 1618 and 1630, when the disputes with Remonstrants, Socinians, and Kooledsjanten (Collegianten, collegians, sectarians of the van der Kodde's) had reached their highest point. It is known that the Rhetoricians frequently meddled with these contending parties, to the great displeasure of the Synods, which more than once contrived to elicit severe measures from the magistrates against them. How far the Haarlem Societies made themselves justly liable to such interferences, I have not been able to discover; but it might be ascertained by means of one or other of their works published about that time, as, Der Wit-Angieren Eerenkrans: ghesproten nyt de Flaemsche Natie, ter eeren der Slaghet van Rederÿcke tot Haerlem, 1630, 4to, or the Refereinen en Liedekens van't Hemelert, 1648.
The verses, excepting the last but one, which is sorely maimed, are easily to be explained. Whether the figures be portraits, I cannot decide without ocular inspection of the painting.
Constanter.
Amsterdam.