Bust of Jacob van Reygersbergh (1625-1675)

Entry

Upon establishing himself in the Dutch Republic shortly before 1650, Rombout Verhulst (1624-1698) evolved to become the most important sculptor of tomb monuments, portrait busts and garden sculpture in the Northern Netherlands. His marble portrait of Jacob van Reygersbergh, the regent from Zeeland, is one of the finest busts ever made in the Dutch Republic – an exquisite sculpture showing the outstanding quality of Verhulst’s work – thanks to the sensitive and almost sfumato approach to carving. Signed and dated 1671, the bust is today preserved in Los Angeles (fig. a).³ In preparation for his marble portrait, Verhulst modelled the present terracotta modello, which equally conveys the sculptor’s masterful hand. A comparison of the two portraits demonstrates once again the sculptor’s high artistic and technical mastery: the marble portrait follows the terracotta model down to the last detail. All the more remarkable when understanding the far more difficult task of rendering the human image in hard marble versus soft clay, which lends itself so readily to a supple modellé. For the actual carving of the marble, however, Verhulst resorted to a plaster working model cast from the present terracotta. This plaster cast allowed him to physically demarcate specific points and to make additional improvements when necessary, without damaging the carefully finished model. Following the sculpture’s completion, it was very likely presented to the patron, as documented in other cases. As such, the present terracotta served not only as a model for the marble but was also seen as an independent, finished work of art in its own right.⁴

In his capacity as Zeeland’s appointed representative to the States General, Jacob van Reygersbergh was often in The Hague. He was also one of Verhulst’s key patrons: apart from commissioning his own portrait, he also played a mediating role in procuring commissions for wall memorials and monumental tombs on the sculptor’s behalf. These included works made for members of the noble classes in Holland, Zeeland and Groningen, with whom Van Reygersbergh had business relations or family ties. In 1663, Jacob’s sister, Maria van Reygersbergh, Lady of both Katwijks and widow of Willem Baron van Liere, commissioned Verhulst to make a grandiose funerary monument in the church of Katwijk-Binnen (cf. BK-NM-11957-A and -B). This imposing tomb is certain to have made a big impression on those in the (semi-)noble circles from which Maria came and with whom she and her brother associated. Undoubtedly, it was also highly beneficial to Verhulst’s career. Only one year later, the sculptor was commissioned to make a second monumental tomb of the same type, this time for Anna van Ewsum, widow of Carel Hieronymus van In- en Kniphuisen, at Midwolde in Groningen. Having both served as representatives of their respective provinces in the States General in 1663, Jacob van Reygersbergh and Carel Hieronymus van In- en Kniphuisen knew each other well. In the same years, Verhulst also supplied epitaphs for Van Reygersbergh’s brother-in-law, Johannis van Gheel (Spanbroek, 1668), and Hendrik Thibaut, an aristocrat from Zeeland (Aagtekerke, 1669). Thibaut was related by marriage to both the Van Reygersbergh and Van Gheel families. That Jacob van Reygersbergh himself was a personal acquaintance of Verhulst is also affirmed by the fact that, in the years 1668 to 1676,⁵ the sculptor acted on at least four occasions as a witness to the execution of notarial documents in which Jacob or Jacoba van Reygersbergh was one of the parties involved. The function of the marble bust of Jacob van Reygersbergh remains elusive: it may perhaps have been intended for an – unexecuted – epitaph or tomb monument.⁶ The terracotta was likely displayed informally in one of the private rooms of Reygersbergh’s home.

Frits Scholten, 2024