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Wollebrand Geleynssen de Jongh before a return fleet

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Wollebrand Geleynssen de Jongh before a return fleet

Everdingen, Caesar van

-Wollebrand Geleynssen de Jongh in front of the homeward bound fleet of 1648.

Taken from the catalogue of the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar.PROVENANCE:Alkmaar, commissioned by the subject and bequeathed to the Alkmaar city orphanage in 1674. In 1811 it was transferred to the verger's house of the Big, or Sint Laurenskerk, but in 1859 onwards it was returned to the orphanage. It was given on loan to the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar from 1875 to 1883. In 1883 it was gifted to the museum by the governors of the orphanage.RESTORATION WORK:1883-01-22, decision to re-canvas. When and by whom the restoration was carried out is not known, but the work may have been executed by A. Klässener, who 'completely restored' the painting for Hfl 25; 1920, J.A. Hesterman, Amsterdam (cleaned and varnished); 1988, M.H.J. de Man, Delft (canvas doubled, cleaned of mould and retouched); M.P. Bijl, Alkmaar (smoothed paint ridges, removed varnish and retouchings, retouched and varnished)DESCRIPTION:This historical portrait was commissioned by Wollebrand Geleynsz de Jongh (1594-1674) himself, probably in 1673. It had not yet been completed at the time of his death on January 28, 1674. Van Everdingen delivered the painting on July 28 and received Hfl. 300.

for his work. As early as 1870 both Bruinvis and Van der Willigen pointed out that, in painting the face, Van Everdingen based his work on a portrait of De Jongh executed in 1664 (see cat. nr. 138).The painting was intended for the Alkmaar orphanage, with which Wollebrand de Jongh maintained close ties. Together with his brothers Jan and Jochem, Wollebrand had been orphaned in 1611 and had therefore come into the care of the orphanage governors. One of them, the notary Cornelis Jansz Baert, was to become his business representative. His daughter Alewijntjen rejected Wollebrand's offer of marriage.De Jongh pursued a career with the Dutch East India Company and resided in the East for much of the period spanning 1613 to 1648. He rose to the post of director of trade in Persia and extraordinary Counsel of the Indies. In 1648 he returned to the Netherlands as commander of a merchant fleet and subsequently retired. He set up house in his home town of Alkmaar, where he was one of the orphanage governors in 1665,1666 and 1667. He died in 1674 and bequeathed the bulk of his estate to the orphanage, the church and the diocese. De Jongh is depicted here in his role of director of trade and commander of the return fleet to the Netherlands. It is a full-length portrait of him, clad in trousers and a green silk jerkin with gold flowers. Around his neck he wears a gold chain with the medal he received from the Dutch East India Company as a token of esteem for services rendered. This medal is listed in his will of 18 december 1673 as 'een goude kettingh van vijf touren, daer een medalie aen hangt, waerinne de twaelf scheepen met het wapen van de Oostindische com-pagnie is afgebeelt'. On the rear the medal is engraved with the text: 'In 't Vreede jaer, belant / Dees Vloot door Wollebrant / Van Oost-Indies rijcke Cust / In 't Lieve Vaderlant'. This medal, possibly made by the Amsterdam goldsmith Johannes Lutma 1 (1587-1669) was later sold and is currently held by the Koninklijk Penningkabinet in Leiden. In his right hand De Jongh holds his command staff, using it to point to the fleet depicted in the background. The objects on the table laid with a Persian cloth -

a register, inkpot and quill and, barely visible, an astrolabe -

refer to his activities as a merchant seaman. To the right stands a moor bearing a parasol and a black child with a sword and over-garment. Their presence serves to underline the high status of the portrait's subject. The life of Wollebrand Geleynsz de Jongh is the subject of the novella 'De Alkmaarder Wees' published in 1854 by the writer A.L.C Bosboom-Toussaint (1812-1886). J.H. Stucki copied and made a lithograph of Van Everdinge's portrait for the title page. One of these lithographs is held by the Alkmaar regional archives. The Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar has in its collection a nineteenth century tobacconist's sign bearing the same image and the legend 'De Alkmaarsche Wees' ('The Alkmaar Orphan').

Please contact Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar for reuse and copyrights.

Sources and literature

Santen, H.W. van, VOC-dienaar in india: Geleynssen de Jongh in het land van de Groot-Mogol (2001)