Willem Crul

The portrait of Willem Crul held by the Rijksmuseum is an unsigned and undated work executed by Cornelis van Cuylenburgh II. It serves as a free copy of an earlier 1763 portrait of the same subject by Johann Ernst Heinsius, which is located in the Fries Museum. Van Cuylenburgh likely created this version around 1801, possibly commissioned by Alexander Gogel, the director of the Nationale Konst-Gallery and a nephew of Crul.

The painting was acquired by the Nationale Konst-Gallery in The Hague in 1801 for 153 guilders. Historical records regarding the purchase cite dates of August 28, September 1, or September 7 of that year. The payment record referring to the artist as "the copyist" confirms Van Cuylenburgh's authorship.

The painting is held in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, with inventory number SK-C-1913.

It was acquired in 1801 by the Nationale Konst-Gallery (the Hague), predecessor of the Rijksmuseum, for 153 guilders; the purchase date is recorded variously as 28 August, 1 September, or 7 September 1801.

The portrait of Willem Crul functions as a posthumous heroic tribute to the naval officer who died in 1781 during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. Although the work in the Rijksmuseum is attributed to Cornelis van Cuylenburgh (II), it is a free copy of an earlier 1763 original by Johann Ernst Heinsius held in the Fries Museum. Van Cuylenburgh likely executed the piece around 1801, possibly commissioned by Alexander Gogel, the director of the Nationale Konst-Gallery and Crul's nephew.

The composition deliberately adopts 17th-century admiral portrait conventions, including the sea battle background, the open curtain, and the table with a tricorne hat and armillary sphere, to elevate Crul's status as a national hero.

Willem Crul became a celebrated figure in Dutch history after his death in 1781 during a naval engagement against an English squadron near Sombrero, where he died while leading a convoy of merchant ships from Sint Eustatius to the Netherlands. His heroic status was commemorated in a portrait painted by Cornelis van Cuylenburgh II, now held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which draws on 17th-century admirals' portrait conventions such as a table with a glass and open curtain and a distant naval scene. The work, an un-signed copy after a 1763 portrait by Johann Ernst Heinsius in the Fries Museum, was acquired by the National Gallery in The Hague in 1801 for 153 guilders and is regarded as a free copy commissioned possibly by Alexander Gogel, a relative of Crul and director of the gallery.

Johann Ernst Heinsius, a German painter active in the late 18th century, executed an oil portrait of Willem Crul in 1793. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and exemplifies the formal portrait genre of its period, presenting the sitter in a richly detailed uniform against a subdued backdrop.