The Castle of Egmond aan den Hoef, with elegant company in the foreground

This picture is an imaginative recreation of the Castle of Egmond, known locally as ‘Slot op den Hoef’. The castle was first built by Wouter van Egmond in 1203, and was reconstructed at various points until, in 1573, it was burnt down on the orders of William of Orange, who wanted to prevent the Spanish from capturing such a strategically important site. Local pride and a sense of nostalgia made the reconstructed image of the castle immensely popular with artists in the area. Van der Heck produced a number of versions of the scene. One of these, held by the Rijksmuseum, depicts identical staffage to the present work. However, the current painting is unusual in its high viewpoint, including extensive landscape beyond the castle walls and a much more intricately detailed foreground than that in the Rijksmuseum. These additions lend the work a delicate yet theatrical quality in keeping with its historically reimagined source.

We are grateful to Christi Klinkert of the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs.