Portrait of Jan Valckenburgh and an Enslaved Servant

Daniel Vertangen (signed by artist), c. 1660

Jan Valckenburgh, married to Dina Lems (opposite), twice served as director-general of Elmina (in present-day Ghana), seen here in the distance. The young man standing behind him is one of the numerous individuals brought to Elmina by African traders in order to be sold to the Dutch. At Fort Elmina, this human trafficking was organized and coordinated by the Dutch West India Company (WIC). In total, the Dutch transported 550,000 Africans to the Americas and the Caribbean.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-4969
  • Dimensionslength 128.3 cm x width 102 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on canvas

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Portrait of Jan Valckenburgh and an Enslaved Servant
    • Portrait of Jan Valckenburgh (former title)

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-4969

  • Description

    Jan Valckenburgh (1623-1667), getrouwd met Dina Lems (?-1675, SK-A-4969), was tweemaal directeur-generaal van Elmina (in het huidige Ghana), dat we in de verte zien liggen. Kniestuk, in harnas met in zijn rechterhand zijn commandeursstaf, staande voor een venster naast een tafeltje en een tot slaaf gemaakte bediende, die een gouden beloningspenning vasthoudt. Hij is een van de vele mensen die door Afrikaanse handelaren naar Elmina gebracht werden om ze aan Nederlanders te verkopen. In Fort Elmina werd deze mensenhandel door de West-Indische Compagnie (WIC) georganiseerd en gecoördineerd. In totaal verscheepten de Nederlanders 550.000 Afrikanen naar de Amerika’s en de Caraïben.

Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Daniel Vertangen (signed by artist), Amsterdam

  • Dating

    c. 1660

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on canvas

  • Dimensions

    length 128.3 cm x width 102 cm

This work is about

  • Person

  • Subject

  • Place

Exhibitions

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Purchased with the support of the Mondriaan Stichting, the Stichting Dr Hendrik Muller's Vaderlandsch Fonds, the Frans Mortelmans Stichting, the M.A.O.C. Gravin van Bylandt Stichting and the K.F. Hein Fonds

  • Acquisition

    purchase 2001-08-30

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; sale, Dr H.B. VerLoren van Themaat et al., Amsterdam (Mak), 1 December 1925 sqq., no. 95, fl. 135, to Diederik Arnold Mauritz Scholten (1874-1948), The Hague, and Cornelia Johanna Scholten - De Bas (1884-1949);{Copy RKD; note RMA.}….; Danish private collection;{Note RMA.}…; anonymous sale [section 'property of a Gentleman'], London (Christie's), 10 july 1998, no. 31, £ 84,000;{Copy RKD.}…; from the dealer Johnny van Haeften, London, £ 160,000, to the museum, with support from the Mondriaan stichting, Stichting Dr Hendrik Muller's Vaderlandsch Fonds, De Frans Mortelmans stichting, M.A.O.C. Gravin van Bijlandt Stichting and Stichting K.F. Hein Fonds, 2001

  • 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

    • G. van der Ham, 'Aan de Afrikaanse Kust', Kunstkrant Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, jan./feb. 2002, p. 18, 19 (afbeelding)
    • Documentatiemap Schilderijen.
    • Jaarverslag Rijksmuseum Amsterdam 2001, Amsterdam 2002, p. 60-63, afb.
    • European Paintings, Londen/New York (The Matthiesen Gallery & Stair Sainty Matthiesen Inc.) 2001, p. 24-27

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