The Celebration of the Peace of Münster, 18 June 1648, in the headquarters of the Crossbowmen's Civic Guard (St. George Guard), Amsterdam

The present lot copies the composition by Van der Helst painted in commission for the St. George Guard in 1648, now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. no. SK-C-2). With the treaty of Münster, signed on 15 May 1648, peace was finally agreed between the United Provinces and Spain, putting an end to both the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War. Through the treaty the Dutch Republic finally gained full independence.