Brinio élevé sur un bouclier

This huge canvas was made for the new Town Hall of Amsterdam, the grandest building in a Dutch Republic that ran itself without a king. Lievens got the commission in January 1661 and finished within six months, adding the last touches high up in place. The scene comes from a Roman account of the ancient Batavians, the tribe the Dutch claimed as ancestors: their allies lift a chieftain named Brinio onto a shield to make him their leader. The message was deliberate. Leaders here were chosen, not born to a throne, exactly the self-government that Amsterdam's merchant rulers prized. The series had a famous casualty. Rembrandt painted a companion scene for the same hall, and it was taken down after a short time and never rehung, which is partly why lesser-known names like Lievens fill the walls instead.