Fun fact: not only are the writings identifying The Threatened Swan as a metaphor for Johan de Witt added later (making it an early example of political cartoonists feeling a need for on-the-nose labels on all parts of their work), and not only is it extremely unlikely that the painting was refering to him specifically (as it was painted before or when he took the post of Stadthouder), it's very questionable whether the painting was supposed to be an allegory at all, as all other paintings by the painter are considered just standard Golden Age painting of things that were around, and none of them are viewed as politically charged. It's very possible some dipshit came along trying to make an allegory out of a nature painting, and everyone kind of accepted it because said dipshit managed to carve it into the actual work.DomaDoma wrote:Hokay, so for general reference, the painting is this one, it's De Witt's brother portrayed as taking the first slice from the swan at the feast, and the movie is called The Admiral and you probably want to see it.
Windy wrote:What is the Dutch cultural significance of a swan?
Dinner
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