Officieren en vaandeldragers van de Oude Schutterij, Caesar van Everdingen, 1657

Civic guard companies were split into units. These are the officers of the orange and blue units of the old civic guard. Standing proudly in the centre, the captains: jacob baert and cornelis groot. Impressive figures. Because of the artist’s low perspective, we literally look up to them. Civic guard portraits are a typically dutch phenomenon and after amsterdam and haarlem, alkmaar has the largest collection. Unusually, this painting still has its original frame. Date: 1657.