Jan de Baen: Portrait of Hieronymus van Beverningk, Lord of Teylingen (1670)

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

A nice portrait by Jan de Baen this time. Hieronymus van Beverningk was a regent from Gouda. He served as an ambassador of the States-General of the Netherlands and thesaurier-generaal (Treasurer) of the Netherlands from 1657 to 1665. He played an important role in several peace conferences such as the treaty of Kleve in 1666, the Treaty of Westminster in 1654 and the Treaty of Breda in 1667. this is symbolized by the official documents and seals on the table. He retired in 1679 and embarked on a scientific career as a botanist and maecenas for the Dutch botanist Paul Herman. He died in 1690 after he fell from a stepladder while organizing the library at the Leiden University. His personal motto was 'Seek thyself, not outside thyself'. This painting is from 1670.