Antique Print-PORTRAIT-ASSEMBLY-BATAVIAN REPUBLIC-SILHOUETTE-Anonymous-1799

Silhouette portraits of the members of the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic.

Made by an anonymous engraver/artist.

Medium: Engraving on hand laid (verge) paper.

Sheet size: 49 x 30.5 cm (19.29 x 12.01 inch). Image size: 47 x 28 cm. (18.5 x 11.02 inch).

Condition: fair, given age. One of silhouetportrets has been cut out. Slight creasing on the edges. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Please study scan carefully.

PORTRAIT-NATIONAL ASSEMBLY-BATAVIAN REPUBLIC-SILHOUETTE | PORTRAIS – MISC

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

History of the Constitution, also History of the Constitution, for the Batavian People, is an 18th century book. The book was written by Cornelius Rogge (1761-1806) and published in 1799 by Johannes Allart in Amsterdam. Rogge describes the creation of the first Dutch constitutional arrangement from 1798 during the Batavian Republic. After a short preface, the book provides a list of delegates to the First National Assembly (1796-1797). Shadow portraits (Rogge calls them ‘shadow images’) of almost all 126 representatives were then included on six fold-out sheets. The actual book covers the first and second drafts of the new constitutional scheme in two parts. In addition to the portraits, four prints are included in the book, including a map of the Republic, a print of a popular festival held in The Hague on May 19, 1798 on the occasion of the adoption of the Constitution, and this page of silhouet portrets.