Allegory on the Death of George Washington

Jacques Kuyper produced this drawing as a frontispiece design for the printed edition of a eulogy composed upon the death of George Washington by the Dutch writer, philosopher, and lawyer Johannes Kinker (1764-1845).[1] The image appears to be an allegory of the creation of the eulogy, written in the form of a lyric poem—both ode and lament. The female figure seated beside Washington’s tomb holds a writing implement and a tablet, seemingly pausing to receive inspiration, or instruction, from the winged creature behind her gesturing toward the gravestone. Amidst the swirling clouds and streaming light, a lyre (symbol of lyric poetry) appears. At lower left is the seal of Amsterdam’s Felix Meritis Society, where Kinker delivered the eulogy in March of 1800. Established in 1776 to promote the arts and sciences, this society embraced the Enlightenment ideals with which Washington and his young nation were associated. Kuyper was also a member.

Kuyper models the figures’ rounded forms with stippling achieved with a fine brush and he carefully delineates the folds of their flowing drapery. With a looser handling of the brush, he conveys the fluttering hair and feathers of the winged creature. The final printed frontispiece, etched by Lambertus Antonius Claessens (1763-1834), follows the drawing faithfully, but corrects the misspelling of Washington’s name and the Latin word “OBIIT” (death), as well as the errors in the Roman numerals of the date. There, the image is accompanied by four lines of text expressing the challenge the author faced in composing a eulogy that would do justice to its subject.[2]

(JSS, 8/23/2018)


[1] Johannes Kinker, Treurzang bij het plechtig vieren der nagedachtenis van Washington (Amsterdam: J. ten Brink Gerritsz., 1800).

[2] Hoe gaarne wenschte ik slechts een enklen trek te treffen,/ Van ‘t beeld, dat mij omzweest gedaald uit hooger kring!/ Hoe woelt mijn kunstdrift, om een treurzang aan te heffen,/ Die uwer waardig klinkt, grootmoedig sterveling!