The Apotheosis of Cornelis de Witt, with the Dutch Raid on the Medway in the background 1667 - 1700

Jan de Baen painted this oil on canvas, “The Apotheosis of Cornelis de Witt, with the Dutch Raid on the Medway in the background,” sometime in the late 17th century. It’s hard to look at this painting without considering the fraught political climate of the Dutch Golden Age, marked by intense power struggles and violence. Cornelis de Witt was a key political figure who, along with his brother Johan, was brutally murdered by a mob in 1672. De Baen attempts to immortalize de Witt, setting him amongst classical figures with the Dutch Raid on the Medway, a major naval victory, displayed in the background. But this heroic portrayal feels unsettling given the brutal reality of de Witt’s demise. The painting invites us to reflect on the narratives we construct around power and the uncomfortable tension between idealized representations and lived experience.