Apotheosis of the Dutch East India Company (Allegory of the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce of the VOC)
1702 - 1746
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
59.5; 85
About this artwork
height 59.5 cm x width 85 cm
Art Historical Context
Nicolaas Verkolje’s *Apotheosis of the Dutch East India Company* is an elegant oil-on-canvas allegory celebrating the power and prestige of the VOC, the world’s first multinational corporation. Created sometime between 1702 and 1746, the modestly sized painting (59.5 × 85 cm) was made for the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce, one of the company’s six regional boards. Verkolje, a Dutch artist active in the early eighteenth century, used the grand Baroque tradition of apotheosis—depicting mortals raised to divine status—to portray the VOC’s commercial empire as a triumphant, almost heavenly achieve...
About the Artist
Nicolaas Verkolje
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