De oorspronkelijke gedaante van de geschilderde kamer in het Martenahuis te Franeker

The Martenahuis in Franeker contains a special room whose walls and ceiling are decorated with vast paintings on canvas. Such fully painted rooms were very popular in the northern Dutch provinces from the last quarter of the seventeenth century and were called ‘painted rooms’ or ‘rooms in the round’. Owing to later additions and alterations, the painted room in the Martenahuis presents a disjointed picture today. The room’s original appearance has been reconstructed with the help of material-technical, art-historical and archival research. It transpires that all the elements of the room were meticulously coordinated with one another, which provides insight into the intentions of the client and the artists involved.The now white-painted flat wooden architectural elements were originally painted with a reddish-brown trompe l’oeil representation which, together with the paintings inserted into them, created the illusion of a richly decorated classical pavilion overlooking Arcadian landscapes. Technical research revealed – in contrast to what the literature had previously suggested – that all the landscape hangings, as well as the central ceiling piece and the eight original wainscot paintings, were part of a single series made especially for this room. Archival research has shown that the room came into being in or shortly after 1701, following the departure in August 1701 of the young Frisian stadholder Johan Willem Friso (1687-1711), who had stayed there while studying at Franeker University. The construction of the room was part of a large-scale renovation commissioned by the wealthy regent Suffridus Westerhuis (1668-1731), who had acquired the building in 1694. Various prints by the French architect Daniel Marot (1661-1752) served as inspiration for the room’s design. Those designs were all published before 1703. There are no elements dating back to Marot’s inventions from or after 1703, such as those included in his collected edition of 1712, whereas this is regularly the case in Frisian buildings built after 1703. As such, the painted room in the Martenahuis is one of the earliest examples of the Marot style in an upper middle-class mansion. The ambitious Suffridus Westerhuis presented himself as a modern and wealthy man of standing by having his house renovated in line with the latest architectural and interior design ideas. What’s more, the painted room he created directly mirrored Marot’s designs for Willem III (1650-1702) and his inner circle. One of the artists Westerhuis chose to do the landscape paintings in his reception room was the painter Jan van Bunnik (1654-1733), who created decorations for the palaces of the stadholder-king and for the country houses of his entourage. In seeking to align himself with the Republic’s highest echelons, Westerhuis was presenting himself as an administrator of high standing. Westerhuis took a keen interest in gardening and the study of nature, a highly appropriate pastime for a prominent figure at that time. As such, his choice of landscape hangings as wall decoration was quite apt. The contemplation of such landscapes was viewed at the time as a form of relaxation after onerous administrative duties. Architecture, paintings and client turn out to be inextricably linked in the Martenahuis room – a connection which, after having been concealed for centuries, has been brought to light by this recent research project.The Martenahuis in Franeker contains a special room whose walls and ceiling are decorated with vast paintings on canvas. Such fully painted rooms were very popular in the northern Dutch provinces from the last quarter of the seventeenth century and were called ‘painted rooms’ or ‘rooms in the round’. Owing to later additions and alterations, the painted room in the Martenahuis presents a disjointed picture today. The room’s original appearance has been reconstructed with the help of material-technical, art-historical and archival research. It transpires that all the elements of the room were meticulously coordinated with one another, which provides insight into the intentions of the client and the artists involved.The now white-painted flat wooden architectural elements were originally painted with a reddish-brown trompe l’oeil representation which, together with the paintings inserted into them, created the illusion of a richly decorated classical pavilion overlooking Arcadian landscapes. Technical research revealed – in contrast to what the literature had previously suggested – that all the landscape hangings, as well as the central ceiling piece and the eight original wainscot paintings, were part of a single series made especially for this room. Archival research has shown that the room came into being in or shortly after 1701, following the departure in August 1701 of the young Frisian stadholder Johan Willem Friso (1687-1711), who had stayed there while studying at Franeker University. The construction of the room was part of a large-scale renovation commissioned by the wealthy regent Suffridus Westerhuis (1668-1731), who had acquired the building in 1694. Various prints by the French architect Daniel Marot (1661-1752) served as inspiration for the room’s design. Those designs were all published before 1703. There are no elements dating back to Marot’s inventions from or after 1703, such as those included in his collected edition of 1712, whereas this is regularly the case in Frisian buildings built after 1703. As such, the painted room in the Martenahuis is one of the earliest examples of the Marot style in an upper middle-class mansion. The ambitious Suffridus Westerhuis presented himself as a modern and wealthy man of standing by having his house renovated in line with the latest architectural and interior design ideas. What’s more, the painted room he created directly mirrored Marot’s designs for Willem III (1650-1702) and his inner circle. One of the artists Westerhuis chose to do the landscape paintings in his reception room was the painter Jan van Bunnik (1654-1733), who created decorations for the palaces of the stadholder-king and for the country houses of his entourage. In seeking to align himself with the Republic’s highest echelons, Westerhuis was presenting himself as an administrator of high standing. Westerhuis took a keen interest in gardening and the study of nature, a highly appropriate pastime for a prominent figure at that time. As such, his choice of landscape hangings as wall decoration was quite apt. The contemplation of such landscapes was viewed at the time as a form of relaxation after onerous administrative duties. Architecture, paintings and client turn out to be inextricably linked in the Martenahuis room – a connection which, after having been concealed for centuries, has been brought to light by this recent research project

De oorspronkelijke gedaante van de geschilderde kamer in het Martenahuis te Franeker

The Martenahuis in Franeker contains a special room whose walls and ceiling are decorated with vast paintings on canvas. Such fully painted rooms were very popular in the northern Dutch provinces from the last quarter of the seventeenth century and were called ‘painted rooms’ or ‘rooms in the round’. Owing to later additions and alterations, the painted room in the Martenahuis presents a disjointed picture today. The room’s original appearance has been reconstructed with the help of material-technical, art-historical and archival research. It transpires that all the elements of the room were meticulously coordinated with one another, which provides insight into the intentions of the client and the artists involved.The now white-painted flat wooden architectural elements were originally painted with a reddish-brown trompe l’oeil representation which, together with the paintings inserted into them, created the illusion of a richly decorated classical pavilion overlooking Arcadian landscapes. Technical research revealed – in contrast to what the literature had previously suggested – that all the landscape hangings, as well as the central ceiling piece and the eight original wainscot paintings, were part of a single series made especially for this room. Archival research has shown that the room came into being in or shortly after 1701, following the departure in August 1701 of the young Frisian stadholder Johan Willem Friso (1687-1711), who had stayed there while studying at Franeker University. The construction of the room was part of a large-scale renovation commissioned by the wealthy regent Suffridus Westerhuis (1668-1731), who had acquired the building in 1694. Various prints by the French architect Daniel Marot (1661-1752) served as inspiration for the room’s design. Those designs were all published before 1703. There are no elements dating back to Marot’s inventions from or after 1703, such as those included in his collected edition of 1712, whereas this is regularly the case in Frisian buildings built after 1703. As such, the painted room in the Martenahuis is one of the earliest examples of the Marot style in an upper middle-class mansion. The ambitious Suffridus Westerhuis presented himself as a modern and wealthy man of standing by having his house renovated in line with the latest architectural and interior design ideas. What’s more, the painted room he created directly mirrored Marot’s designs for Willem III (1650-1702) and his inner circle. One of the artists Westerhuis chose to do the landscape paintings in his reception room was the painter Jan van Bunnik (1654-1733), who created decorations for the palaces of the stadholder-king and for the country houses of his entourage. In seeking to align himself with the Republic’s highest echelons, Westerhuis was presenting himself as an administrator of high standing. Westerhuis took a keen interest in gardening and the study of nature, a highly appropriate pastime for a prominent figure at that time. As such, his choice of landscape hangings as wall decoration was quite apt. The contemplation of such landscapes was viewed at the time as a form of relaxation after onerous administrative duties. Architecture, paintings and client turn out to be inextricably linked in the Martenahuis room – a connection which, after having been concealed for centuries, has been brought to light by this recent research project.The Martenahuis in Franeker contains a special room whose walls and ceiling are decorated with vast paintings on canvas. Such fully painted rooms were very popular in the northern Dutch provinces from the last quarter of the seventeenth century and were called ‘painted rooms’ or ‘rooms in the round’. Owing to later additions and alterations, the painted room in the Martenahuis presents a disjointed picture today. The room’s original appearance has been reconstructed with the help of material-technical, art-historical and archival research. It transpires that all the elements of the room were meticulously coordinated with one another, which provides insight into the intentions of the client and the artists involved.The now white-painted flat wooden architectural elements were originally painted with a reddish-brown trompe l’oeil representation which, together with the paintings inserted into them, created the illusion of a richly decorated classical pavilion overlooking Arcadian landscapes. Technical research revealed – in contrast to what the literature had previously suggested – that all the landscape hangings, as well as the central ceiling piece and the eight original wainscot paintings, were part of a single series made especially for this room. Archival research has shown that the room came into being in or shortly after 1701, following the departure in August 1701 of the young Frisian stadholder Johan Willem Friso (1687-1711), who had stayed there while studying at Franeker University. The construction of the room was part of a large-scale renovation commissioned by the wealthy regent Suffridus Westerhuis (1668-1731), who had acquired the building in 1694. Various prints by the French architect Daniel Marot (1661-1752) served as inspiration for the room’s design. Those designs were all published before 1703. There are no elements dating back to Marot’s inventions from or after 1703, such as those included in his collected edition of 1712, whereas this is regularly the case in Frisian buildings built after 1703. As such, the painted room in the Martenahuis is one of the earliest examples of the Marot style in an upper middle-class mansion. The ambitious Suffridus Westerhuis presented himself as a modern and wealthy man of standing by having his house renovated in line with the latest architectural and interior design ideas. What’s more, the painted room he created directly mirrored Marot’s designs for Willem III (1650-1702) and his inner circle. One of the artists Westerhuis chose to do the landscape paintings in his reception room was the painter Jan van Bunnik (1654-1733), who created decorations for the palaces of the stadholder-king and for the country houses of his entourage. In seeking to align himself with the Republic’s highest echelons, Westerhuis was presenting himself as an administrator of high standing. Westerhuis took a keen interest in gardening and the study of nature, a highly appropriate pastime for a prominent figure at that time. As such, his choice of landscape hangings as wall decoration was quite apt. The contemplation of such landscapes was viewed at the time as a form of relaxation after onerous administrative duties. Architecture, paintings and client turn out to be inextricably linked in the Martenahuis room – a connection which, after having been concealed for centuries, has been brought to light by this recent research project

Striving for Unity: The Significance and Original Context of Political Allegories by Theodoor van Thulden for ’s-Hertogenbosch Town Hall

This case study explores the original significance and contexts of a series of political allegories painted by Theodoor van Thulden (1606-1669) for the ’s-Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc) Town Hall. In considering their commission history, current attributions, their relevant historical and political contexts and their initial placement in the town hall, we aim to reconstruct the paintings' function as a decoration program between their installation in the late 1640s and their relocation following a substantial renovation of the building in the early 1670s. The article concludes with a reflection on the changing nature of the town hall's interior and its impact on the interpretation and appreciation of van Thulden's paintings in the present

Striving for Unity: The Significance and Original Context of Political Allegories by Theodoor van Thulden for ’s-Hertogenbosch Town Hall

This case study explores the original significance and contexts of a series of political allegories painted by Theodoor van Thulden (1606-1669) for the ’s-Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc) Town Hall. In considering their commission history, current attributions, their relevant historical and political contexts and their initial placement in the town hall, we aim to reconstruct the paintings' function as a decoration program between their installation in the late 1640s and their relocation following a substantial renovation of the building in the early 1670s. The article concludes with a reflection on the changing nature of the town hall's interior and its impact on the interpretation and appreciation of van Thulden's paintings in the present

Tautomeric equilibria of nucleobases in the hachimoji expanded genetic alphabet

Evolution has yielded biopolymers that are constructed from exactly four building blocks and are able to support Darwinian evolution. Synthetic biology aims to extend this alphabet, and we recently showed that 8-letter (hachimoji) DNA can support rule-based information encoding. One source of replicative error in non-natural DNA-like systems, however, is the occurrence of alternative tautomeric forms, which pair differently. Unfortunately, little is known about how structural modifications impact free-energy differences between tautomers of the non-natural nucleo¬bases used in the hachimoji expanded genetic alphabet. Determining experimental tautomer ratios is technically difficult and so strategies for improving hachimoji DNA replication efficiency will benefit from accurate computational predictions of equilibrium tautomeric ratios. We now report that high-level quantum-chemical calculations in aqueous solution by the embedded cluster reference interaction site model (EC-RISM), benchmarked against free energy molecular simulations for solvation thermodynamics, provide useful quantitative information on the tautomer ratios of both Watson-Crick and hachimoji nucleobases. In agreement with previous computational studies, all four Watson-Crick nucleobases adopt essentially only one tautomer in water. This is not the case, however, for non-natural nucleobases and their analogs. For example, although the enols of isoguanine and a series of related purines are not populated in water, these heterocycles possess N1-H and N3-H keto tautomers that are similar in energy thereby adversely impacting accurate nucleobase pairing. These robust computational strategies offer a firm basis for improving experimental measurements of tautomeric ratios, which are currently limited to studying molecules that exist only as two tautomers in solution

Dutch Classicism in Europe

Medieval and Early Modern Studie