CONCORDIA is an exhibition about the unique regent portrait The churchwardens of the Sint-Joriskerk from 1657, painted by the Amersfoort master Gerrit van Stellingwerff (1614 – ca. 1659). It tells the story of good governance, tolerance in faith, and mutual friendship. The regent portrait is a rarity in the Netherlands as this work is the only known seventeenth-century painting to date that depicts a college of church masters.
The churchwardens of the Sint-Joriskerk
The painting is both impressive and personal, looking straight into the eyes of ten seventeenth-century men who had a considerable influence on the daily lives of the people of Amersfoort. If you look at the composition of the committee, you will see not only Reformed members, but also Remonstrants and Catholics. On the book with the ribbons on the right, the word CONCORDIA (unity) is written on the front (upside down). This can be seen as the motto of the churchwardens: they wanted to show their religious tolerance despite differences in faith.
This painting is unique for a number of reasons. To date, four works by Van Stellingwerff have been preserved: three paintings and one drawing. The churchwardens of the Sint-Joriskerk is one of them. This particular portrait still hangs in the place where it was painted: in the Sint-Joriskerk. The work has never been provided with a support cloth, which is rare for a seventeenth-century painting, and the original stretcher frame is still intact.
Gerrit van Stellingwerff (1614 – ca. 1659), The churchwardens of the Sint-Joriskerk, 1657, Sint-Joriskerk, Amersfoort, photo: René Gerritsen Onderzoeksfotografie
CONCORDIA
The CONCORDIA exhibition aims to interest visitors to the church in the many aspects of the painting, the painter, and the churchwardens and bailiff depicted. Why is this painting so important? What does it tell us about this period in Amersfoort? Who were these churchwardens? What do the nameplates in the church tell us? And what does the famous Amersfoort Catholic squire Everard Meijster have to do with the painting?
Due to the poor condition of the painting, the original cannot be shown in the exhibition. During the exhibition, visitors will be able to admire a life-size print, which clearly shows the special details. The exhibition also includes unique archival items such as the guild book of the Saint Lucas guild, the commission to the painter, a book of accounts and resolutions of the churchwardens. An animated film brings the characters to life.
The restoration and exhibition are organized on the initiative of Albert Boersma together with art historian Annelies Frequin.