The Engagement at Bautersem

In 1830 the southern provinces of the Netherlands broke away and declared themselves the new kingdom of Belgium. On 2 August 1831 the Dutch army marched in to take them back, in what became known as the Ten Days' Campaign. On 12 August, in a fight at Bautersem near Leuven, the horse ridden by the Dutch commander, the Prince of Orange, later King William II, was shot from under him. That is the moment Pieneman shows. The prince stands beside his wounded horse with Major Hoyel, surrounded by mounted officers and infantry, with a farmhouse and the battlefield behind. The campaign stirred patriotic feeling at home, but it ended in a truce and Belgium stayed independent. Pieneman painted the scene two years later, in 1833, and the Rijksmuseum bought the canvas in 1957 for 1,200 guilders.