Rijksmuseum

Het kasteel van Batavia

Date

c. 1662

Medium

canvas, oil paint (paint)

Institution

Rijksmuseum

These people would never have all been together at the same time! Beeckman was trying to give an overview of the different ethnic groups in Batavia. They include Japanese, Indians, ‘mardijkers’ – formerly enslaved people, recognizable by their striped clothing – and a Dutch-Eurasian couple and their enslaved servant with a pajong (sunshade). A Javanese woman sells fruit, a Chinese person is fishing and Moluccans play football with a rattan ball. This painting hung in the assembly room of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) headquarters in Amsterdam.

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