''The Threatened Swan'' ( nl, De bedreigde zwaan)The Threatened Swan, Jan Asselijn, c. 1650
Rijksmuseum. Retrieved on 6 January 2019. is an

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

of a mute swan made around 1650 by

Dutch Golden Age painter Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republi ...

Jan Asselijn Jan Asselijn (c.1610 – October 1, 1652) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography Asselijn was born at Dieppe from a French Huguenot family as ''Jean Asselin''. He received instruction from Esaias van de Velde (1587–1630), and distingu ...

. The work is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It is high and wide. The painting's subject is a life-size swan (''Cygnus olor'') defending its nest against a dog. At the bottom right, the painting is signed with the monogram "A".Bedreigde zwaan; later opgevat als allegorie op Johan de Witt

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

, 2012. Retrieved on 15 January 2015. By 1800 when it was purchased, the painting was interpreted as a political allegory of grand pensionary (the highest official in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, the main province of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

)

Johan de Witt Johan de Witt (; 24 September 1625 – 20 August 1672), ''lord of Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp en IJsselvere'', was a Dutch statesman and a major political figure in the Dutch Republic in the mid-17th century, the ...

protecting the country from its enemies. Three inscriptions had been added: the words "de raad-pensionaris" (the grand pensionary) between the swan's legs, the words "de viand van de staat" (the enemy of the state) above the head of the dog on the left, and the name "

" on the egg on the right.Catalog entry at 1800 purchase
for ''Een Levensgrote Zwaan in een Landschap'' Also, based on a recent speculation, it represents

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

in the story of Leda and the Swan. In the 1790s this painting was in the collection of Jan Gildemeester and was included in the 1800 catalog of paintings (ordered alphabetically by artist) produced for his estate sale, though it was not included in Adriaan de Lelie's 1794 painting of the collection known as ''

The Art Gallery of Jan Gildemeester Jansz ''The Art Gallery of Jan Gildemeester Jansz'' is a painting created by the Dutch painter Adriaan de Lelie in 1794-95. It is part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, executed in oil paint on panel. It depicts the art collector Jan Gilde ...

''. The catalog states that it is an "allegory of Raadpensionaris de Witt". The painting was purchased by the art dealer Cornelis Sebille Roos for 100 guilders for the Nationale Konst-Gallery in The Hague, on behalf of the director

Alexander Gogel Isaac Jan Alexander Gogel (10 December 1765 – 13 June 1821) was a Dutch politician, who was the first minister of finance of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of Holland. He married Catharina van Hasselt in 1800, and had three children. Car ...

. It is documented as the first purchase by that institution. Current speculation is that the white text that was added to the painting in the 1750s during

Witten-Oorlog The Witten-Oorlog (Witts War) was a 1750s pamphlet war between the Dutch historian Jan Wagenaar and the Dutch lawyer and book-seller Elie Luzac. Topics of the historical and political dispute The main subject was whether or not the Witt brothers' ...

, a pamphlet war between historians.De inrichting van de Nationale Konst-Gallery in het openingsjaar 1800, by

Pieter J.J. van Thiel Pieter J.J. van Thiel (1928–2012) was a Dutch art historian known mostly as one of the founders of the Rembrandt Research Project. From 1964-1991 he was director of the department of paintings at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, where he took over fro ...

, Oud Holland, Vol. 95, No. 4 (1981), page 173 Its painter Jan Asselijn was assumed to have written the words himself until the timeline was brought into question. The Witten-Oorlog, also known as "Witts War" revolved around the 1672 execution of the De Witt brothers, who were Dutch politicians.

died in 1652.

References

External links

History of the Rijksmuseum
on museum website {{DEFAULTSORT:Threatened Swan, The 1650 paintings Birds in art Paintings in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Cygnus (genus) Dutch Golden Age paintings Water in art