The Judgement of Junius Brutus

• The Judgement of Junius Brutus
• The Judgement of Lucius Junius Brutus, Model for a Relief in the Vierschaar of the Amsterdam Town Hall (now Royal Palace) at Dam Square

BK-AM-51-21

The most elaborately ornamented space in the Town Hall was the Vierschaar (Tribunal), where death sentences were pronounced. Three marble reliefs above the seats of the judges illustrate exemplary verdicts from antiquity or the Bible. This is the model for the relief of the Judgement of Brutus, a Roman consul who had his own sons beheaded for conspiring against him – a paragon of justice.

F. Scholten, 'Quellinus's burgomasters:a portrait gallery of Amsterdam republicanism', Simiolus 32, nr. 2/3 (2006), p. 105

sculptor: Artus Quellinus (I), Amsterdam

c. 1650 - c. 1652

terracotta

height 72 cm x width 83.5 cm x depth 20 cm

On loan from the City of Amsterdam

Public domain

Commissioned by the City of Amsterdam, c. 1651;{Cited in a list of works for which Quellinus was paid on 11 April 1652 is _een platte historie representerende Junius brutus gebotcheert van potaerde verdint - 200_ [gulden] (a flat history representing Junius brutus modelled from terracotta earns 200 [guilders]), most likely referring to this model, see Stadsarchief Amsterdam (hereafter: SAA), archive 5039 (Thesaurie Ordinaris), inv. no. 624, no. 4 (also mentioned on list no. 6). Cited in a list of works for which Quellinus was paid on 7 and 25 June 1652 is the model version for an amount of 1600 guilders, see ibid. no. 10 (also mentioned in list no. 11).} from the artist,{K. Fremantle, `The Fountains Designed for Van Campen´s Amsterdam Town Hall and Quellien´s Models for Them´, _Album discipulorum aangeboden aan J.G. van Gelder ter gelegenheid van zijn 60ste verjaardag_ (_Utrechtse Kunsthistorische Studiën_ 7), Utrecht 1963, pp. 101-18, esp. p. 104 (note 15): _dewijl zijn werk lootse nu affgebroken wordt dat haer Edele_ [burgemeesters] _sullen laten affhalen de modellen vande beelden die hij ten behoeve dezer Stede gemaeckt heeft_ (while his workshop is being closed, that her Noble [burgomasters] shall have the models of the sculptures that he made on behalf of this City collected). See also H.J. Wiggers, `De stad Amsterdam en haar vroegste beeldencollectie´, in M. Jonker et al., _In beeld gebracht: Beeldhouwkunst uit de collectie van het Amsterdams Historisch Museum_, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1995, pp. 60-75, esp. p. 62 (referring to A.W. Kroon, _Het Amsterdamsche stadhuis (thans Paleis), 1625-1700: Zijne geschiedenis naar onuitgegeven officiële bronnen bewerkt_, Amsterdam 1867, p. 138).} transferred to the Town Hall (now Royal Palace) at Dam Square, Amsterdam, 1664;{H.J. Wiggers, `De stad Amsterdam en haar vroegste beeldencollectie´, in M. Jonker et al., _In beeld gebracht: Beeldhouwkunst uit de collectie van het Amsterdams Historisch Museum_, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1995, pp. 60-75, esp. pp. 62-64. The models were initially kept in the Thesaurie Ordinaris (Treasury) of the town hall. Around 1700, most were moved to the art cabinet in the _kunstkamer_ (art chamber) on the third floor, see _Wegwyzer door Amsterdam_, Amsterdam (Nicolaas ten Hoorn) 1713, p. 446. From 1768 on, the task of overseeing the models´ preservation was assigned to the Stadstekenacademie (City Drawing Academy), also located in the aforementioned _kunstkamer_. In 1769, academy director Cornelis Ploos van Amstel compiled an inventory of all sculptures in the art chamber. This inventory also included Quellinus´s models, see SAA, archive H. 86.003 (Library), Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, _Notitie van Boetseersels en Pleisterbeelden enz bewaard wordende op de kunstkamer van het stadhuijs der stad Amsterdam_ (January 1769). From November 1796 to April 1806, the Stadstekenacademie was obliged to (temporarily) vacate the town hall art chamber on the orders of the French occupier. During this period, it is not known where the models were stored, though presumably they remained in the town hall, albeit without oversight. In April 1806, the models were moved to the _rariteitenkamer_ (curiosity chamber), also called the Diplomatieke Bibliotheek (Diplomatic Library).} transferred to the Stadstekenacademie (at two or three successive locations), Amsterdam, 1808;{The collection was moved in 1808, when Louis Napoleon took up residence in the town hall. H.J. Wiggers, `De stad Amsterdam en haar vroegste beeldencollectie´, in M. Jonker et al., _In beeld gebracht: Beeldhouwkunst uit de collectie van het Amsterdams Historisch Museum_, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1995, pp. 60-75, esp. pp. 67-68. See also SAA, archive 265 (Stadstekenacademie), inv. nos. 1-4 and 6-54.} transferred to the Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten (old Exchange of Hendrick de Keyser), Amsterdam, 1821;{H.J. Wiggers, `De stad Amsterdam en haar vroegste beeldencollectie´, in M. Jonker et al., _In beeld gebracht: Beeldhouwkunst uit de collectie van het Amsterdams Historisch Museum_, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1995, pp. 60-75, esp. p. 70, referring to SAA, archive 265 (Stadstekenacademie), inv. no. 4 (minutes of 1818-1821).} transferred to the Oude Mannenhuis, Amsterdam 1837;{H.J. Wiggers, `De stad Amsterdam en haar vroegste beeldencollectie´, in M. Jonker et al., _In beeld gebracht: Beeldhouwkunst uit de collectie van het Amsterdams Historisch Museum_, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1995, pp. 60-75, esp. pp. 70-71. See also SAA, archive PA 681 (Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten), inv. no. 7.} transferred to the Town Hall at the Prinsenhof, Amsterdam, 1878;{H.J. Wiggers, `De stad Amsterdam en haar vroegste beeldencollectie´, in M. Jonker et al., _In beeld gebracht: Beeldhouwkunst uit de collectie van het Amsterdams Historisch Museum_, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1995, pp. 60-75, esp. p. 72. See also SAA, archive H. 86.003 (Library).} on loan to the museum, since 1887{See SAA, archive H. 86.002 (Library).}

F. Scholten, 'Quellinus's burgomasters:a portrait gallery of Amsterdam republicanism', Simiolus 32, nr. 2/3 (2006), p. 105

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

https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200115923