Governor-General Jan Pietersz Coen

anonymous, 1620 - 1675

Coen, governor general of the Dutch East Indies, took the first steps towards creating a colonial empire with the foundation of Batavia in 1619. His pursuit of overseas land ownership went against the wishes of the Dutch East India Company’s directors, who were interested solely in establishing trading posts. Coen used violent military force in the process. For instance, he exterminated the population of the Banda Islands (part of the Moluccas) to obtain the monopoly on nutmeg.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-3758
  • Dimensionsheight 97.5 cm x width 77.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on panel

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Governor-General Jan Pietersz Coen
    • Portrait of Governor-General Jan Pietersz Coen

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-3758

  • Description

    Portret van Jan Pietersz Coen (1587-1629). Gouverneur-generaal (1619-23 en 1627-29). Staand, ten halven lijve naar rechts, wandelstok in de rechterhand. Linksboven het familiewapen. Onderdeel van een reeks van portretten van de gouverneurs-generaal van het voormalige Nederlands Oost-Indië.

Creation

  • Creation

    • painter: anonymous, Batavia
    • painter: anonymous, Netherlands

  • Dating

    1620 - 1675

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on panel

  • Dimensions

    height 97.5 cm x width 77.5 cm

This work is about

  • Person

  • Subject

  • Place

  • Period

    • 1627 - 1629
    • 1619 - 1623

Acquisition and rights

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    Commissioned by the Gouverneur-Generaal for the Landvoogd-Galerij;{De Loos-Haaxman 1941, p. 159.} transferred from the Landvoogd-Galerij, Paleis Rijswijk, Weltevreden (Jakarta), to the museum, 1950

  • Remarks

    Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

    • M. van de Laar en W. de Ridder, 'De Wisselvallige geschiedenis van de portrettengalerij van de Gouverneurs-Generaal van Nederlands-Indië', Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum (1997) nr. 3, p. 204-216.
    • K. van Brakel et al., Indië omlijst : Vier eeuwen schilderkunst in Nederlands-Indië, Amsterdam 1998, p. 90-102.
    • M.A. van Rhede van der Kloot, De Gouverneurs-Generaal en Commissarissen-Generaal van Nederlandsch-Indië, Den Haag 1891.
    • J.P.M. Goudaens, Jaarboek Die Haghe (1986), p. 127-181 (Over de serie kleine Gouverneurs-Generaal van Nederlands Indië).
    • Historisch Nieuwsblad 10 (2010), p. 15

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