The Disbanding of the ‘Waardgelders’ by Prince Maurits

• The Disbanding of the ‘Waardgelders’ by Prince Maurits
• The Disbanding of the 'Waardgelders' (Mercenaries in the Pay of the Town Government) by Prince Maurits on the Neude, Utrecht, 31 July 1618

SK-A-155

• date, on the fourth house on the right: ‘Anno 1627’
• signature, on the house on the left: ‘PAwels van hillig’
• signature and date, bottom centre: ‘Pauwels van hilligaert 1627’

Attired in black, Prince Maurits watches as (mercenary) soldiers – so-called ‘waardgelders’ hired by the towns – here cast off their armour into a sizeable heap. Army commander Maurits put an end to the practice of hiring mercenaries in 1618. By disbanding them, he further consolidated his control over the municipal governments, quashing their ability to defend themselves

Documentatiemap Schilderijen: aantekeningen R. van Luttervelt (voor 1963).

painter: Pauwels van Hillegaert (signed by artist)

1627

olieverf op doek

• height 98.5 cm x width 171.2 cm
• depth 8.5 cm

purchase 1801-04

Public domain

...; purchased by the museum from the dealer C.S. Roos, 3 April 1801;{Moes/Van Biema 1909, pp. 44-45; Grijzenhout 1984, p. 57, no. 31.}

Documentatiemap Schilderijen: aantekeningen R. van Luttervelt (voor 1963).

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:

https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/20027051