Portrait of Karel Reyniersz, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies

copy after anoniem, 1750 - 1800

Portraits of the governors general. At the head of the VOC administration in Asia was the governor general, the chairman of the East Indies Council, which met in Batavia. The Council's assembly chamber at the Castle in Batavia was the focal point of Dutch power. Along the walls hung the portraits of all the past governors general, symbolising the continuity of the Dutch presence. Smaller copies at the Company's offices in the Netherlands represented the VOC's power in Asia. The copies displayed here probably come from the VOC's Rotterdam Chamber. Some of the portraits from the series that hung in Batavia are displayed above in the VOC gallery that circles this room. Pieter Both, 1610-1614 Gerard Reynst, 1614-1615 Laurens Reael,1615-1619 Jan Pietersz Coen, 1619-1623 and 1627-1629 Pieter de Carpentier, 1623-1627 Jacques Specx, 1629-1632 Hendrick Brouwer, 1632-1636 Antonio van Diemen, 1636-1645 Cornelis van der Lijn, 1645-1650 Karel Reiniersz, 1650-1653 Joan Maetsuycker, 1653-1678 Rycklof van Goens, 1678-1681 Cornelis Speelman, 1681-1684 Johannes Camphuys, 1684-1691 Willem van Outshoorn, 1691-1704 Abraham van Riebeeck, 1709-1713 Christoffel van Swoll, 1713-1718 Hendrick Zwaardecroon, 1718-1725 Mattheus de Haan, 1725-1729 The portrait of Joan van Hoorn, 1704-1709, is missing.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-4534
  • Dimensionsheight 33 cm x width 25 cm, depth 3.7 cm