About this artwork
Rombout Verhulst sculpted this terracotta portrait of Michiel de Ruyter, the famous Dutch admiral. The closed eyes are a striking element. They evoke contemplation and inner strength, but also bring to mind the tradition of funerary sculpture. Consider the death masks of antiquity, where the closed eyes signified a passage to another realm. Yet, even in life, this motif appears; think of depictions of philosophers or wise men, eyes closed in deep thought, transcending the mundane world. Across time, the symbolic weight of closed eyes has shifted. From ancient death rites to Renaissance depictions of spiritual awakening, and even, as we see here, to the veneration of a national hero, who seems to be listening to the echoes of the sea. It reflects our collective memory of great leaders or thinkers, now frozen in timeless reflection. The slumber calls out.
Artwork details
- Medium
- sculpture, marble
- Dimensions
- height 35 cm, width 32 cm, depth 30 cm
- Location
- Rijksmuseum
- Copyright
- Rijks Museum: Open Domain
Tags
Comments
Rombout Verhulst modelled this portrait in clay while he was designing Michiel de Ruyter’s large tomb monument for the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. The sculptor thoroughly studied painted portraits of the admiral for this commission. Verhulst kept this modello in his own possession until his death.
About this artwork
Rombout Verhulst sculpted this terracotta portrait of Michiel de Ruyter, the famous Dutch admiral. The closed eyes are a striking element. They evoke contemplation and inner strength, but also bring to mind the tradition of funerary sculpture. Consider the death masks of antiquity, where the closed eyes signified a passage to another realm. Yet, even in life, this motif appears; think of depictions of philosophers or wise men, eyes closed in deep thought, transcending the mundane world. Across time, the symbolic weight of closed eyes has shifted. From ancient death rites to Renaissance depictions of spiritual awakening, and even, as we see here, to the veneration of a national hero, who seems to be listening to the echoes of the sea. It reflects our collective memory of great leaders or thinkers, now frozen in timeless reflection. The slumber calls out.
Comments
Rombout Verhulst modelled this portrait in clay while he was designing Michiel de Ruyter’s large tomb monument for the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. The sculptor thoroughly studied painted portraits of the admiral for this commission. Verhulst kept this modello in his own possession until his death.
