Barend Dircksz or Deaf Barend (1500 – 1577) was a Dutch

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

painter from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. What little we know of him was written in passing by

Karel van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remembe ...

, who included a biography of his son,

Dirck Barendsz Dirck Barendsz or Theodor Barendszoon (1534–1592) was a Dutch Renaissance Painting, painter from Amsterdam who traveled to Italy in his youth to learn from the Italian masters, most notably Titian. Biography He was trained by his father, a pain ...

. According to Van Mander who was writing in 1604, Dirck Barendsz's father was known as ''dooven'' or deaf Barent and he painted a piece dated 1535 which was then still hanging in the Amsterdam City Hall and which depicted a mob of members of a strange

sect A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that b ...

who wished to take over the city. Van Mander wrote that this painting was somewhat unsettling to see but ''not badly done for his day''.

Anabaptist riot

The painting Van Mander referred to was a depiction of what is known today as the ''Anabaptist riot'' and was later destroyed in the fire which burned the city hall down in 1652. The

Anabaptist riot The Anabaptist riot of Amsterdam or ''Wederdopersoproer'' generally refers to an event on 10 May 1535 in which 40 Anabaptists Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: T ...

of Amsterdam or ''Wederdopersoproer'' generally refers to an event on 10 May 1535 in which 40

Anabaptists Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...

occupied the city hall. The city guardsmen stormed the city hall and in the battle that ensued, the mayor

Peter Colijn Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, 20 militiamen and 28 Anabaptists were killed. The surviving Anabaptists were executed in a particularly gruesome manner: their hearts were cut out of their breasts while still alive, their bodies were drawn and quartered, and their heads were stuck on pikes and posted at the city gates. The painting in storyboard form was probably commissioned by the Amsterdam council to both depict the dead militiamen in scenes of heroic bravery, while serving as a warning to any future insurgents.Barend Dircksz
in the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...

For years the attribution of a portrait of the Amsterdam militiamen (''Militiamens' meal with 8 men'') was also given to Barend Dircksz. File:Barend Dircksz - Wederdopersoproer 10 May 1535 in Amsterdam RP-P-OB-78.501.jpg, One of the many prints after the lost painting, showing events from 10 May 1535 in Amsterdam - in lower right the mayor

is being killed File:SA 7305-Schuttersmaaltijd met acht figuren.jpg, Militia piece, c. 1550

References

Wederdopersoproer
in

Amsterdam City Archives The Amsterdam City Archives ( nl, Stadsarchief Amsterdam) preserves documents pertaining to the history of Amsterdam and provides information about the city. With archives covering a shelf-length of about 50 kilometres, the Amsterdam City Archives ...

1500 births 1577 deaths Early Netherlandish painters Painters from Amsterdam {{Netherlandish-painter-stub