The Patronage of Rembrandt's Passion Series: Art, Politics, and Princely Display at the Court of Orange in the Seventeenth Century

IntroductionBetween 1633 and 1646, Prince Frederik Hendrik of Orange (1584-1647) commissioned and purchased seven paintings by Rembrandt. Commonly known as the Passion Series, the paintings remain an intriguing puzzle in the world of Rembrandt studies. The Passion paintings do not, in fact, narrate the story of Christ's Passion. Two scenes from the childhood of Christ (the Adoration of the Shepherds and Circumcision) are included, while major events of the Passion (such as the Crucifixion) are omitted. Furthermore, the paintings are on different supports, in different styles, and were assembled in a piecemeal fashion at irregular intervals over more than 15 years. Yet the series remains the most prestigious commission in Rembrandt's career. Made for the premier patron of art in the Northern Netherlands, it was by any standards among the artist's most valuable (as well as lucrative) projects.Seven paintings made up the Passion group in 1646; today, six survive, in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. In chronological order of production, they are: the Descent from the Cross (1633); the Raising of the Cross (1633); the Ascension (1636); the Entombment (by 1639) and Resurrection (by 1639); and the Adoration of the Shepherds (1646). A Circumcision (1646) has been lost, though a copy of the composition may exist in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig.1 There are two main reasons to think about these paintings as a group: the first is their common size and format (about 90 x 70 cm, with slight variations, all with semicircular arched tops and ebony frames). The second is the fact that they were all owned by Frederik Hendrik, stadhouder in the Northern Netherlands and Prince of Orange-Nassau.The paintings have garnered relatively little sustained attention in Rembrandt scholarship, perhaps due to their visual oddity (a perception exacerbated by the sadly worn condition of the six remaining paintings). The scholarly focus has been on the artist, and on the seven letters in Rembrandt's own hand that survive regarding this commission. By contrast, the role of the patron has been minimized. Most scholarship on the paintings simply states the fact that they were made for the Prince while discussing separate issues such as Rembrandt's stylistic development or biography.2 In this article, I will focus on the patronage of these works, their location within a larger system of court display, and their reception and interpretation. As writers on patronage have pointed out, court art and architecture in the early modern period was invested with important functions and carried significant weight in a ruler's quest to define and solidify power.3 Since the Passion series was a court commission, re-establishing its courtly context (both in its physical setting and audience) provides a new understanding of the frame of reference within which the series operated.Enter the PatronFrederik Hendrik was the third son of the famous champion of Dutch independence, Willem van Orange-Nassau (also known as Willem de Zwijger, or 'the Taciturn'), and one of several military heroes and stadhouders from that aristocratic family. From youth he was groomed to serve the United Provinces and further the family interests. Frederik Hendrik learned military skills at the elbow of his elder half-brother Maurits van Orange, the renowned general and military strategist. Frederik Hendrik acquired diplomatic and social skills during service to his godfather King Henri IV of France, and from his well-connected French Hugenot mother, Louise de Coligny.Like his father and brother, Frederik Hendrik served as stadhouder in the Northern Netherlands. The stadhouder (literally, 'city-holder,' or governor in today's terms) post derived from the nation's earlier history as a part of the Burgundian and Hapsburg empires. In those days, trusted local aristocrats were appointed by absent rulers to govern on their behalf. During the Republic, the stadhouder instead served the States-General, the sovereign governmental body made up of representatives from the regent class across the Netherlands. …