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1936-649, Print
The Dutch Officers upon Guard
1936-649, Print

The Dutch Officers upon Guard

Dateca. 1750
After work by
Engraver
Maker 1725 - 1794
MediumMezzotint and line engraving on laid paper
DimensionsOverall: 11 × 15 in (27.94 × 38.1cm)
Other (Platemark): 9 7/8 × 13 3/4 in (25.08 × 34.92cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1936-649
DescriptionLower margin reads: "C. Troost pinx./ C. Corbut fecit./ The DUTCH OFFICERS upon GUARDS/ CORPS de GARDE des OFFICERS HOLLANDOIS./ London, printed for Rob.t Sayer, Printseller, near Serjeanto Inn, Fleet Street."Label TextThis print depicts a gaurdroom, a room or building that was used by Dutch civic guards to relax and engage in leisure. Officers smoke, read, and play cards. A guard on the right studies a map of the Netherlands.

This print was based on a 1748 drawing by Dutch artist Cornelius Troost (1696-1750). In the 1740s, Troost painted several military guardroom scenes, distinguished by their relative brightness. Troost's drawing currently resides at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The replication of Troost's work by a English engraver illustrates the dissemination of Dutch art to Britain through printmaking.
ProvenanceBefore 1936, Antique Art Galleries, Ltd. (London, England); 1936-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).