#The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers

[mysterious-secret-garden]

Jan de Baen - The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers, Jan and Cornelis, Hanging on the Groene Zoodje on the Vijverberg, The Hague, 1672.

[moonfl-0-wer]

I just did something… X

If you know you know

[brujasvascas]

The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers,  c.1672 Jan de Baen

[stigmatam4rtyr]

The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers (between 1672-1675, oil on canvas) | Jan de Baen

[leofwines]

[elixir]

The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers Jan de Baen — 1675

[pmamtraveller]

JAN DE BAEN - THE CORPSES OF THE DE WITT BROTHERS, 1675

In 1672, the major European powers united and launched an attack on the Dutch Republic, posing a danger of overwhelming the nation. This cost the De Witt brothers, Johan and Cornelis, their lives. De Baen's artwork illustrates their lifeless bodies suspended at the Groene Zoodje on the Vijverberg in The Hague. Johan de Witt served as the Pensionary (the actual leader) of Holland, the most influential province. He was killed by a carefully planned lynch "mob" following his visit to his brother Cornelis de Witt in jail. He was lured into this trap by a forged letter.

The aftermath of this interaction, captured in this artwork, is disturbing, to say the least. Stripped of their garments, the siblings were suspended upside down from a wooden beam. They were castrated and disemboweled. Protesters severed fingers, toes, tongues, and noses to trade as keepsakes. A man is thought to have twisted the neck of a stray cat, the carcass of which he inserted into the open cavity where Cornelis’ penis used to be. Every bruise, cut, and amputation was integrated into the artwork.

Witness accounts assert that Johan's body was displayed higher than that of his brother. The rioters did so because he held the most powerful office in the country, and this aspect was noted by de Baen as he envisioned his artwork. As the De Witts lost numerous distinguishing features, it becomes challenging to identify which of the two figures in "Corpses" is supposed to represent which brother. Thankfully, an inscription on the back of the canvas dispels much of the ambiguity:

These are the corpses of Johan and Cornelis de Witt, made by a prominent painter from life as they hung from the post at eleven o’clock in the evening. Cornelis is the one without a wig. Johan de Witt still has his own hair

The painter was, after all, not present at the lynching. Other draftsmen were, and their sketches appeared in newspapers that de Baen then cross referenced to construct his own version of the events. Despite his remoteness from the incident, his interpretation continues to be treated as a kind of hand-painted photograph: an honest, accurate, and reliable depiction of a historical event.

[radfemsiren]

What are your thoughts on the red light district. Everyone just talks about it so casually and there r so many yt vid of men vlogging their time there. It honestly kinda icky. The way people (men) talk about the women who work there, which I'm sure is not a choice they chose happily.

Hmm how I feel about the red light district is perfectly articulated in the tv show Killing Eve, season 2, episode 4…

For those who don’t watch the show, the female assassin dresses up as a prostitute, goes to the red light district, and waits for a John. When he makes his move, she attacks.

She hangs him upside down and cuts down his torso, disemboweling him, and recreating a painting she saw earlier in the season and grew fond of: “The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers” by Dutch artist Jan de Baen.

[gyossefka]

“The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers” by Jan de Baen.

[nighttimepatrons]

"The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers" but make it Celegorm and Curufin. Or perhaps Ambarussa?

[liamgallaghermpreg]

i just thought this had a brothers incest vibe

The De Witt Brothers in Prison, Simon Opzoomer

oh it really does........one in the bed is giving pregnant as well whoa......... googled around and there is a painting of these guys' corpses as well lol

[aquitainequeen]

It would be that, while journeying through the Rijksmuseum, the picture I took the second most photos of was The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers, attributed to Jan de Baen. I remembered it well from my first visit so many years ago. It does tend to stick in the mind and refuse to be dug out.

Instead of including that picture, here's one of a bust of Johan de Witt before all that awful stuff happened to him.

[whineofglass]

The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers

[victusinveritas]

The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers - Jan de Baen, 1675.

Pictured below are two other views of their rather icky end. Below that are what they looked like before having their wigs split.

The De Witt brothers were popular figures in 17th century Dutch politics until one day they were not so popular with an angry mob. The mob wasn't entirely wrong: they blamed the De Witts for the Dutch Republic getting its ass kicked in a war against the French. Tried for treason, Cornelius de Witt was sentenced to exile and his brother Johan was made to quit his cabinet post in the government. The crowd outside thought this was a slap on the wrist and expressed their displeasure promptly. The mob lynched them and tore the brothers to shreds. Jan de Baen did not miss the opportunity to show a good spur of the moment anatomizing when he had the chance.

[amapolamapola]

The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers, Jan de Baen, 1682

[tenebrobscuro]

Jan de Baen, Detail of The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers, ca. 1672-75