Mayor Joachim Alting (1594-1621)

About this artwork.

Joachim Alting (1556 – 1625) was secretary of Groningen and delegate to the court in Brussels. Joachim became one of the four mayors at that time after the reduction of Groningen (the capitulation of the then still Spanish-friendly city to the army of Prince Maurits van Nassau, later Prince of Orange, and Willem Lodewijk van Nassau-Dillenburg) in 1594. When fierce discussions arose in the year 1600 between the States General and the city of Groningen about the payment and collection of taxes, Alting was one of those who resisted. He opposed the action of the States General, who pressed the city with a numerous military garrison. In 1600 Alting had to justify himself – in the role of deputy – in The Hague. In 1601 he was deposed as mayor, but after years of tension they came to an agreement and Joachim became mayor of Groningen again. As such, in the following years he contributed much to the founding of the Highschool in Groningen (now the University of Groningen) in 1614, of which he became curator in 1620. He was also one of the directors of the West India Company in Groningen (1622). Furthermore, as city administrator, he was involved in the large expansion that almost doubled the territory of the fortified city. Joachim Alting died in 1625.

Many may know the name Joachim Alting because of the Joachim Altinghstraat in the Oosterpoortbuurt, named after him.

The mayor's portrait was painted almost 300 years after his death in 1913 by Bernardus Bueninck (1864 - 1933), painter, draftsman and illustrator, who worked in Groningen, among other places. Bueninck had been an art teacher in Groningen since 1894 and painted and drew landscapes and harbor views. Bueninck has copied the portrait of 1913 from an original painting. The original is located in the academy building of the University of Groningen. It was borrowed from the city council of Groningen from 1892-1913; in that last year, the curators of the State University donated the copy of Bernardus Bueninck to the municipality and received the original back. The original – a professor portrait – was painted around 1620 by an unknown painter. Although Alting had been a curator and not a professor, he was nevertheless awarded a seat in the senate chamber.

Facts & Figures.

• Artist(s)
  Bernardus Bueninck

• Year of creation
  1913

• Dimensions (in cm)
  77x67

• Collection
  Town Hall Collection

• Technic
  Oil paint on canvas