Portrait of Albert Verwy, by Jan Veth (1885)

Published February 22, 2017 at 2949 × 4226 in Amsterdam, City of Museums (Day 2)

The poet Verwey was the young leader of the “Tachtigers” (tachtig = 80), a group of writers and artists who wanted to shake up art and culture around 1885. Together they founded the literary Journal De Nieuwe Gids (The New Guide), which took issue with the literary and artistic establishment. Verwy’s fellow “Tachtiger” Jan Veth convincingly captured his rebelliousness in this portrait, making it the very image of the “Beweging van Tachtig” (The Movement of Eighty).