Allegory of good governance

About this artwork.

This seventeenth-century work painted by Hermannus Collenius (1650 - 1723) depicts Unity and Wisdom as human figures. The painting demands attention, not because it is so much more beautiful or interesting, on the contrary, because the representation is obscure in a double sense. For that reason it often attracts attention and the question is regularly raised as to what the painter wanted to portray.

In 1685 Herman Collenius was requested by the city council to capture a memory of the siege of Groningen in a painting, but Collenius declined this request because such work would not suit him. The assignment was then given to Folkert Bock. It is assumed that is why Collenius painted this allegorical scene. Former municipal archivist, Dr A. T. Schuitema Meijer, says in his book: “For many it has been a puzzle what this painting intends to communicate. Perhaps the correct meaning of it will remain hidden forever, but in the dignified old man, seated on a seat, above which is the city coat of arms on the veil, we may see the allegorical portrayal of the city government. The old man's left hand rests on a large, cramped book, presumably the city book. Fasces and sceptre, symbolic signs of government power, are held by a goddess. The helmeted Minerva in the foreground seems to have subdued and unmasked a villain.”

Herman Collenius often painted personifications, mythical figures and religious images. He painted in Groningen for over thirty years, including the highly regarded history paintings for the Groningen city and provincial authorities. Over the years Collenius was allowed to paint many portraits of members of wealthy families in the city and its surrounding area. The striking thing about these portraits is that in the background you can usually see an Italian fantasy landscape and an orange-colored sky. This way you can see whether a portrait is of Collenius or not.

Herman Collenius' works eventually ended up in many different places, they are part of private collections and museum collections such as the Groninger Museum, Loo Palace and Museum Mesdag in The Hague. Outside our national borders they adorn rooms in Newby Hall North Yorkshire England and New York United States. Collenius gave Groningen allure.

There are three streets in the Netherlands named after Herman Collenius: one in Leek, one in Uithuizen, and one in Groningen. The Herman Colleniusstraat in Groningen is known for one of the two water towers in Groningen (although it is formally located on the Hofstede de Grootkade).

Facts & Figures.

• Artist(s)
  Herman Collenius

• Year of creation
  1685

• Dimensions (in cm)
  230x198

• Collection
  Town Hall Collection

• Technic
  Oil paint on canvas