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Justinus van Nassau (1559–1631) was the only extramarital child of William the Silent. He was a Dutch army commander known for his role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada, his leadership of the forces in Breda during the siege of 1624, and the depiction of his surrender in the painting by Diego Velázquez, The Surrender of Breda .
- 1559
- William the Silent, Eva Elincx
- Anna van Mérode
The Surrender of Breda. Ca. 1635. Oil on canvas. Room 009A. On June 5, 1625 the Dutch governor of Breda, Justinus van Nassau, surrendered the keys of that city to Ambrosio Spínola, the Genoese general commanding the Spanish tercios (a group of soldiers that included pikemen, swordsmen and musketeers) of Flanders.
- What defines a great leader
- A commission from the King of Spain
- The aftermath of battle
- A painting about magnanimity
- Not a document of the event
How military leaders treat their vanquished enemies conveys much of their character. In early modern Europe, paintings of military victories usually followed a preconceived structure: the victorious commander appeared seated high on his horse, or on a throne, while the capitulating general would kneel on the ground. Degraded and humiliated, the con...
Between 1630 and 1635 the Spanish king Philip IV commissioned the construction of a royal palace just outside of Madrid. The Surrender of Breda was one of the paintings that decorated the most lavish room in that palace, the Hall of Realms. This multipurpose room had two important functions; it was a throne room, and it was a place for music and th...
Though the painting depicts a military victory, Velázquez removed the bloody and violent aspects of the battle from the canvas. Instead, he chose to present the aftermath of the battle: the capitulation of the Dutch to the Spanish troops. It is important to notice how Velázquez established the difference between these two groups. The Dutch, on the ...
The center of the painting is dominated by the exchange of the keys. Ambrogio Spinola, the captain of the Spanish troops, receives the keys of the city from Justinus van Nassau. Having descended from his horse, and looking at the Dutch commander eye-to-eye, Spinola places his hand over Justinus’ shoulder, most likely in order to stop him from kneel...
Some aspects of the painting correspond to the historical reality of the event. After the siege, Spinola granted the Dutch army very generous terms of surrender; he ordered the Spanish army to respect the Dutch, who were allowed to leave Breda in military formation and carrying their ensigns. However, we should not let Velázquez’s naturalistic style deceive us. The Surrender of Breda is not a faithful reproduction of the event. It is highly unlikely that the encounter between the two commanders took place as depicted. The painter, who was not present at the siege of Breda, carefully constructed the scene to commemorate Spinola’s magnanimous character, not to document an event. Velázquez has subtly emphasized the figure of Spinola who, holding a baton of command, wears a distinct, splendid armor and a vivid magenta sash. At the same time, Velázquez’s astonishing skill is precisely shown in the easiness with which he transforms the viewers into eyewitness to an impromptu encounter. The muted earth tones and a soft light give the painting a naturalistic character. Without blatant symbols, allegorical figures, or even idealized figures, the viewer is invited to encounter the scene as if they had been there.
The painting presents a humane encounter in the midst of the chaos and cruelty of war. But we should not think that there are no ulterior motives for the presentation of this seemingly virtuous moment. Spinola, the Spanish troops, and by extension Philip IV, are presented as powerful and honorable. Thus the painting operates at multiple levels: it is a rhetorical exaltation of Spanish national identity, a symbol of Philip IV and his army, and a tribute to Spinola, a personal friend of Velázquez who had died a few years before the commission of the painting.
Additional resources
Read a chapter in our textbook, Reframing Art History, about "The global baroque: secular matters."
This painting discussed on "Art Through Time."
About the redesign of the Hall of Realms.
At the center of the composition, Justinus van Nassau is seen surrendering and handing over the key of the city to Spinola and Spain. Spinola, the Genoese general, commanded the Spanish tercios which included pikemen, swordsmen, and musketeers as displayed in the painting.
- 307 cm × 367 cm (121 in × 144 in)
- Diego Velázquez
- 1634–35
Jan Anthonisz van Ravesteyn (? Culemborg c. 1572 - The Hague 1657) Although there are no archival records to support such a supposition, it is believed that Jan Anthonisz van Ravesteyn was the son of a glass-painter, Anthonis van Ravesteyn, who is documented in Culemborg in 1593 and in The Hague in 1602.
14 de jun. de 2018 · Geevers, L. (2018). Adri van Vliet, Bastaard van Oranje. Justinus van Nassau. Admiraal, diplomaat en gouverneur (1559-1631). BMGN - Low Countries Historical Review, 133. https://doi.org/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.10520
1559 tot 1631. Justinus van Nassau,atelier van schilder: Ravesteyn, Jan Antonisz. van (coll. Rijksmuseum A'dam) Justinus van Nassau was de enige onwettige zoon van Willem van Oranje. Het was in de zestiende en zeventiende eeuw niet ongewoon voor de hoge adel om onwettige kinderen te hebben, zogenaamde bastaarden.
