450 years ago the Eighty Years' War broke out:a reason for the Rijksmuseum to dedicate an exhibition to this. The makers tell the story of the emergence of an independent country. But initially this independence was not the intention at all.
When you enter the exhibition space of the Rijksmuseum, one of the masterpieces immediately catches your eye. It is an impressive stained glass window of the Sint-Janskerk in Gouda with a kneeling Philip II on it. He was the King of Spain and Lord of the Netherlands at the time this artwork was created.
Curator Gijs van der Ham is very proud of the presence of this original window. Philip II had this window made with himself on it to thank God for defeating the French in 1557. “I never thought we would be able to display the window here, but it turned out to be surprisingly easy to move. As a curator you also have to be lucky and encounter these kinds of things.”
Families torn apart
The exhibition 80 years of war. The birth of the Netherlands tells the story of the Rebellion. How it started as the resistance of the nobles against the policy of the Catholic Philip II. A monarch was no problem, but he should not curtail their power or act violently against Protestants. “The Eighty Years' War or the Revolt did not start as a struggle for independence, as many people learned at school,” says Van der Ham. He created this exhibition, based on recent scientific insights, and wants to show what the real story is.
In chronological order, you can see how the resistance subsequently developed into a full-blown civil war in which different religions faced each other. Whole families were torn apart. After several decades, the conflict had turned into a war between two states:the self-proclaimed independent Protestant north and the Spanish Catholic south, which is now roughly Belgium.
Eventually the conflict spread all over the world, with sea violence and naval battles between the Republic and Spain and its colonies. “Ultimately, this northern struggle for its own freedom had the opposite effect in other areas:the disappearance of freedom, both for the enslaved and for those of other faiths,” says the curator. The last group fled or went underground to profess their religion.
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War for generations
If you think you will see a lot of weaponry and paintings of battles in this exhibition, you will be somewhat disappointed. The exhibition is not only about the war itself, but more about the backgrounds. “This has not been done before because it is such a hugely complex and long story. Don't forget that this war lasted for three generations," says the curator.
During those three generations, north and south developed into two states with their own identity. Van der Ham:“The differences between the current Netherlands and Belgium have their roots in this conflict. In the Republic the Protestants and the bourgeoisie came to power and in the Spanish Netherlands the Catholic nobility and monarch. The painting The soul fishing show this dichotomy well.”
Heart-shaped box
The exhibition is divided into nine general themes, with names such as Order, Fraction, and Identity, spread over ten rooms. “The Chaos hall is the only one that deals with the uprising itself. There was a lot of violence then. It was completely unclear to the people which way it would go and the large middle group did not want to take a side at all, as is usually the case.”
This room also contains two relatively unknown objects:the heart of Count Van Egmont and parts of a statue from the village church of Doorn. “These fragments of images were found a few years ago under the church floor and are now on display to the public for the first time. They were smashed to pieces during the Iconoclasm and then put under the church floor so that the Protestants could walk over them once a week. Inadvertently, this has ensured that they have been preserved so well that even the colors are still on them,” Van der Ham shows.
A little further on is a silver-colored box in the shape of a heart. This is the heart of the decapitated Count of Egmont, who was beheaded in 1568. He was one of the nobles who opposed the policies of Philip II and was subsequently charged with high treason. “The story is well known, but few people know that the heart is still preserved in the town hall of the Flemish town of Zottegem,” says Van der Ham.
Despondent
Wandering through the halls, those about refugees (Expelled) and War-weary grip me most. Here the misery becomes small and personal and therefore tangible. For example, you see an album with drawings of impoverished refugees. It was made in 1569 by Joris Hoefnagel, who fled the war with his family and lost everything. By drawing, he got out of the hole again, Hoefnagel wrote.
In the War Tired room there is a small painting that has been chosen as the figurehead of this exhibition. It is a slightly slumped soldier on his horse, seen from behind. It was made by Gerard ter Borch in 1634 and shows a completely different picture than I am used to from this period:no battles, triumphs or propaganda to blacken the enemy, but a soldier who no longer sees it. It's simple but effective. This also applies to a work by Brueghel in this room, which depicted a despondent woman amid all the violence of war.
No winners
Finally we arrive in the Peace room. Here are the documents signed in Münster from 1648 that ratified the peace between Spain and the independent Republic. Finally, both sides recognized that neither of them could win the war. Those who had started the war were long dead. On the Spanish side, the signatory was King Philip IV, the grandson of Philip II. The document, which is kept in the National Archives, is on display here.
“What is special is that the freedom of conscience and autonomy of the regions that can be found in the Traktaat, still form the basis of the Netherlands.” The exhibition has been set up in such a way that the visitor realizes the enormous importance of this conflict for our country, the makers hope. In addition, issues such as terror, oppression and refugees still play a role in the world today. This makes the exhibits and stories from the Eighty Years' War very recognizable.
Book now
In total, two hundred objects have been brought together, partly from our own depot and partly on loan. The halls look a bit flat because paintings, maps and documents dominate, but there are also some 3D objects to be seen, such as a suit of armor, bust or cannonballs here and there. In any case, all the objects themselves played a part in the war, active or passive. “All are direct eyewitnesses to the Rebellion and not objects made after the fact. They are propaganda, victims of violence or an expression of triumph. These objects not only carry the story, they are the story,” says Van der Ham.
It's a nice story, but really going into depth – as the makers intended – remains difficult. As they said themselves, the Rebellion is complex and the period is very long. You cannot possibly tell and show everything in detail. Fortunately, a book has also been published, 80 years of war in which Van der Ham tells the extensive story. If you want to know more about the (run-up to) the Rebellion, this is a must. The book reads like a train.