‘The Illuminations on the Hogesluis Celebrating the Birth of the Young Prince’, Christiaan Andriessen, 1805 - 1808

brush, h 128mm × w 173mm More details

Between 1806 and 1810 Louis Napoleon was the king of Holland. On the occasion of the birth of his son on 20 April 1808, an obelisk was erected on the Hogesluis (a stone bridge) in Amsterdam and illuminated with Chinese lanterns. The decorations of the Hogesluis were largely made by Andriessen together with his father and uncle, and so he may well have beheld this sight with a sense of pride.