Art Collections Online
Etienne Van den Bergh falsely accused of Treason
SCHENDEL, Petrus van (1806 - 1870)
Media: oil on canvas
Size: 127.0 x 151.7 cm
Acquired: 1927; Gift; Mrs C.H. Bailey
Accession Number: NMW A 508
Comments - (2)
This is Stephen van den Bergh, steward for the prince of Orange (William the Silent) in Breda, with his daughter Anna. The scene is part of the events leading up to to the Dutch insurrection or Eighty Years' War (1566–1609). Anna van den Bergh had rejected the advances of a Spanish suitor, who then proceeded to accuse her father of treason. Father and daughter have just read the accusation in the letter that he is holding. Stephen was to die in a Breda prison in 1568. I am not sure if this was due to this accusation, or to his master's conflict with king Philip II of Spain. Anna went on to marry a local nobleman called Jan Christiaan Coenen.
rexcal19@tpg.com.au