The Art of Networks

Have you ever visited Lübeck, Hamburg, or Bremen? Or perhaps Gdańsk, Tallinn, or Kampen? Inhabitants of these cities take pride in the Hanseatic past of their home towns. The merchants who ran the Hanse, a mercantile organization, successfully engaged in long-distance trade throughout Europe since the Middle Ages. However, wealthy Hanse merchants also commissioned art and architecture. Who were these patrons of art and what do artworks reveal about the merchants, their organization, and the way they viewed the world? In this article I will introduce you to one of them.

In 1574, Cornelis Ketel (1546–1616), a painter from Gouda, portrayed Adam Wachendorff (1539-1591) as a confident merchant. ¹ The painting safeguards both the sitter’s memory as well as that of the institution he represented. Wachendorff presented himself as a proud member of the Hanse: an association of traders and an organization of towns in Europe in which these merchants were burghers. ² The Hanse was famous for its successful mercantile ventures spanning from Russia to Portugal. At its height, around two hundred cities in Europe were part of the urban network of the Hanse. ³ Hansards also ran Kontore, or office-branches, in London, Bergen, Novgorod, Bruges and Antwerp among others. Board members of these offices represented the interests of Hansards, procuring commercial and legal privileges, by negotiating with local authorities to advance trade. Wachendorff’s portrait should be viewed in light of his service as board member and secretary to the London Kontor.

Originally from Danzig (Gdańsk, Poland), Wachendorff ran the office-branch of the Hanse in London known as Stilliard or Stalhof. His posture underscores the importance of his position. Weighed down by precious black clothes, he stands behind his desk, a letter in his right hand, his left hand on his hip. The panel’s verso depicts a putto blowing bubbles set in a landscape: a memento mori accompanied by a Greek inscription. ⁴ The words, translated as “man is a soap bubble,” warn the viewer that a bubble, just like life itself, can shatter any moment. A particularly interesting detail suggests that the panel may have been mobile, which is a rare feature among paintings. Atop the frame a ring indicates the painting could hang from a ceiling and that a viewer could turn the painting: at one moment confronted with a humbling Vanitas symbol, while the next faced with the self-assured merchant. ⁵

At first sight the painting looks like a typical sixteenth century portrait. However, the panel includes elements seemingly at tension with one another. The attributes that accompany Wachendorff, tell us about his occupation and high social standing. The pen, ink, a gold colored watch, and a paper, displayed at his desk allude to his work as secretary. Yet the most important tool in the secretary’s ensemble is missing: a close look at the letter in his hand and the paper on his desk reveals the documents have no words written on them.⁶

This pictoral strategy is consistent with the message presented on the frame: Sermo Dei AEternus Caetera Omnia Caduca, translated: "The word of the Lord is forever, all else is transient.” The painting reminds us that the words of a secretary do not matter in the light of eternity, and yet, we are looking at a self-conscious merchant, representing himself and his institution for posterity.

The particular way in which Cornelis Ketel treated his subject deserves consideration. Like Wachendorff, Cornelis Ketel seemed aware that the working tools he so skillfully handled –in his case the panel, paint, and brushes– amount to a painting subject to decay. Indeed, despite careful preservation of the painting, the panel shows marks of discoloration, paint-loss, and abrasion, making it even more significant that we can still admire this remarkable portrait today. ⁷ Karel van Mander, the author of Ketel’s biography and friend of the artist, describes Ketel as a talented and singular artist who used experimental painting techniques. In Van Mander’s account, Ketel sometimes produced artworks without using his brush, using his bare hands (and sometimes even his feet!) to paint. ⁸ Ketel’s predilection for allegorical topics, his interest in novel approach to painting, and his portraits of learned persons manifest Ketel’s ideas on the creation of art. He did not think of his work as mere craftsmanship; His thinking about art extended beyond its physical limitations. ⁹ With the portrait of Wachendorff, Ketel visualizes the interplay between the ephemerality and longevity of material, art, and life. In doing so he evokes the presence of the sitter.

In my research I unravel the complexity of this visually appealing and intellectually challenging art work by employing the following complementing research methods. Aside from a visual analysis of the painting, letters and documents elicit important details from the life, work, art patronage, and world of ideas of Adam Wachendorff. A study of the material characteristics of the painting gives us insights in Ketel’s visual strategies and enables us to place the work in the artistic context of its time. For instance, by relating the portrait of Wachendorff to portraits of Hanse merchants by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543). Technical examination allows us to discern Ketel as an inventive, experimental, and learned artist. These qualities, manifest in this remarkable painting, proved equally essential to the success of merchants. Ketel’s artistic explorations and cross-border career fit the mobility of the Hansards remarkably well. This suggests that Wachendorff’s choice to have his portrait painted by Cornelis Ketel may have been an express choice.

Studying Wachendorff’s portrait does not only acquaint us with the life and work of the sitter and the painter but it also challenges our views on the Hanse as such. The network of the Hansards played a central role in the development of the early modern European economy at large as well as for the Low Countries specifically. ¹⁰ Wachendorff’s art patronage, however, reflects the role of the Hansards in European-wide cultural exchange. The portrait contests the dominant view of the Hanse as a “medieval” trade network. ¹¹ Commissioned in the late sixteenth century, the painting evidences that Wachendorff looked ahead. The merchant established his future within the framework of the Hanse and promoted the reputation of his trade organization through art.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Suzie Hermán is the Andrew W. Mellon fellow at the Rijksmuseum and a PhD candidate at Princeton University. Hermán studies early modern mercantile networks, specifically the cultural legacy of Hanse merchants from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

More information on the research project.

Citation

To cite this article please use the following citation:
Hermán, Suzie. The Art of Networks: A portrait of Hanse Merchant Adam Wachendorff. Published 03/12/2021, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Stories: Connecting Objects, [URL], [last visited: MM/DD/YY].