Nicolaas Beets (1814 - 1903). Marble, C. Beets, 1894. The author Beets was particularly famous for his book Camera Obscura. He wrote this under the pseudonym Hildebrand. The first edition appeared in 1839 while he was still a theology student in Leiden. Besides writing prose and poetry Beets was also a preacher. In 1875 he was appointed professor of church history in Utrecht. Faith, patriotism and the House of Orange were Beets's themes. He belonged to the revivalist movement, like his friend Hasebroek. The bust was made by one of Beets's sons. It was presented to the Rijksmuseum in 1898, five years before his death, by friends and admirers in the hope that 'it would receive a place in the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum next to that of Hasebroek and other men of renown.'