Title of Artwork: “The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis”
Artwork by Rembrandt
Year Created 1661 – 1662
Summary of The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis
When Rembrandt painted the Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis in 1661 and 1662, it was the largest painting of his career at roughly five by five metres. For the Town Hall, the city of Amsterdam commissioned this artwork. When the piece was taken down, Rembrandt, who may have never been paid, had it returned to his possession. A quarter of the original painting’s original size was reduced by Rembrandt in order to make it more saleable. The artwork, which depicts a secular history, is his final work.
All About The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis
The painting follows Tacitus’s Histories in depicting an episode from the Batavian rebellion (69–70 AD), led by the one-eyed chieftain Claudius Civilis (actually called Gaius Julius Civilis by Tacitus, except once, and so known to history; but Claudius Civilis has become entrenched in art history).
In this instance, he “collected at one of the sacred groves, ostensibly for a banquet, the chiefs of the nation and the boldest spirits of the lower class,” convinced them to join his cause, and then marched on Rome.
To put it another way, he pretended to be Sertorius or Hannibal because of his facial deformities, which included the loss of an eye. In order to reclaim his freedom, he pretended to be friends with Emperor Vespasian through no fault of his own.
In the Betuwe wetlands, upon his return to his tribe, he set about organising the uprising he had long planned to take place.
For the new city hall, completed in 1655, the painting was commissioned for the gallery (now the Royal Palace). In the 17th century, history paintings were regarded as the highest form of art, and the Batavian insurrection was romanticised as a forerunner of the recently concluded fight against the Spanish.
Govert Flinck, a former student of Rembrandt, was hired by the city council in 1659 to create twelve paintings to cover the wide spaces of the new structure, but he died in 1660 before completing any of the works, despite the council’s efforts to complete the project.
The burgomasters Joan Huydecoper and Andries de Graeff, who were clearly decisive, then divided up the task among a number of painters, including Jacob Jordaens and Jan Lievens.
It was the council’s responsibility to supply the canvas for the artist. Rembrandt was hired to paint a scene from Tacitus, one of eight depicting the insurrection in the original plan.
Rembrandt was the first to invent the sword oath. Only one Batavian can be seen brandishing a weapon in Antonio Tempesta’s engraving from 1612, which is one of 36 illustrations to Otto van Veen designs in the book Batavorum cum Romanis bellum about the insurrection.
Other depictions show Batavians shaking hands with their leaders. It wasn’t long before the States General in The Hague had asked Van Veen to produce a similar series of twelve paintings in the following year.
Flinck’s design was inspired by an engraving of one of these baroque works, which had become popular representations of the uprising in people’s minds. Van Veen adhered to baroque standards of propriety by depicting Civilis in profile with only his right eye visible.
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