The Self-Promotion of a Libertine Bad Boy
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam owns one of the most curious portraits ever made in the seventeenth century – the likeness of the Dutch classical scholar and notorious erotomaniac Hadriaan Beverland (1650-1716), who was banished from the Dutch Republic in 1679 because of his scandalous publications. In...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Rijksmuseum Publications Department
2018-12-01
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| Series: | The Rijksmuseum Bulletin |
| Online Access: | https://bulletin.rijksmuseum.nl/article/view/9764 |
| _version_ | 1818888876257705984 |
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| author | Joyce Zelen |
| author_facet | Joyce Zelen |
| author_sort | Joyce Zelen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam owns one of the most curious portraits ever made in the seventeenth century – the likeness of the Dutch classical scholar and notorious erotomaniac Hadriaan Beverland (1650-1716), who was banished from the Dutch Republic in 1679 because of his scandalous publications. In the portrait – a brunaille – the libertine rake sits at a table with a prostitute; a provocative scene. Why did this young humanist promote such a confrontational image of himself? In this article the author analyses the portrait and explores Beverland’s motives for his remarkable manner of self-promotion, going on to argue that it was the starting point for a calculated campaign of portraits. Over the years Beverland commissioned at least four more portraits of himself, including one in which he is shown drawing the naked back of a statue of Venus. Each of his portraits was conceived with a view to giving his changeable reputation a push in the right direction. They attest to a remarkable and extraordinarily self-assured expression of identity seldom encountered in seventeenth-century portraiture. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T17:00:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-20769353a0c6490c9125be02c249518b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1877-8127 2772-6126 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T17:00:05Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | The Rijksmuseum Publications Department |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Rijksmuseum Bulletin |
| spelling | doaj.art-20769353a0c6490c9125be02c249518b2022-12-21T20:13:19ZengThe Rijksmuseum Publications DepartmentThe Rijksmuseum Bulletin1877-81272772-61262018-12-0166410.52476/trb.9764The Self-Promotion of a Libertine Bad BoyJoyce ZelenThe Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam owns one of the most curious portraits ever made in the seventeenth century – the likeness of the Dutch classical scholar and notorious erotomaniac Hadriaan Beverland (1650-1716), who was banished from the Dutch Republic in 1679 because of his scandalous publications. In the portrait – a brunaille – the libertine rake sits at a table with a prostitute; a provocative scene. Why did this young humanist promote such a confrontational image of himself? In this article the author analyses the portrait and explores Beverland’s motives for his remarkable manner of self-promotion, going on to argue that it was the starting point for a calculated campaign of portraits. Over the years Beverland commissioned at least four more portraits of himself, including one in which he is shown drawing the naked back of a statue of Venus. Each of his portraits was conceived with a view to giving his changeable reputation a push in the right direction. They attest to a remarkable and extraordinarily self-assured expression of identity seldom encountered in seventeenth-century portraiture.https://bulletin.rijksmuseum.nl/article/view/9764 |
| spellingShingle | Joyce Zelen The Self-Promotion of a Libertine Bad Boy The Rijksmuseum Bulletin |
| title | The Self-Promotion of a Libertine Bad Boy |
| title_full | The Self-Promotion of a Libertine Bad Boy |
| title_fullStr | The Self-Promotion of a Libertine Bad Boy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Self-Promotion of a Libertine Bad Boy |
| title_short | The Self-Promotion of a Libertine Bad Boy |
| title_sort | self promotion of a libertine bad boy |
| url | https://bulletin.rijksmuseum.nl/article/view/9764 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT joycezelen theselfpromotionofalibertinebadboy AT joycezelen selfpromotionofalibertinebadboy |