Art › Amsterdam › The Rijksmuseum
The Threatened Swan
De bedreigde zwaan
A swan spreads its wings to defend its nest against a dog.
Asselijn painted a swan defending its eggs, life size. Later someone added words that made it a political cartoon: the swan is the Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt, the egg Holland, the dog the enemy of the state.
In 1800 it was the very first painting bought by the national art gallery that grew into the Rijksmuseum; it hangs first in the Gallery of Honour. Stand before it in 3D ›
