Dutch landing on Easter Island
Date
1758
Creator
Matthys Balen (1684 - 1766, Dutch) , Draughtsman
Object type
Library reference
RCNR60744
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 198mm
width (print): 190mm
width (print): 190mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Landscape showing Dutch rowing boats approaching a landing on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) with the crew firing muskets. A party of islanders face them with spears, two of whom have been shot and are lying on the ground, presumably killed. In the background, right, three Dutch ships. To the left, islanders worship a stone monument with a face, intended as one of the island’s Moai, or figurative statues.
Frontispiece plate from the book Tweejarige Reyze rondom de wereld ter nader ontdekkinge der onbekende zuydlanden, met drie schepen in het jaar 1721 (Dordrecht, Hendrik de Koning, 1764). With the inset title ‘REYZE naar het ZUYDLAND’. Inscribed lower left ‘M: Balen inv. Te Dordrecht by HENDRIK de KONIG, Boerverkoper 1758’.
The expedition of Jacob Roggeveen (1659-1729) Dutch explorer, was the first European contact with the island, in the ships Arend, Thienhoven, and Afrikaansche Galey. The small fleet arrived on 5 April 1722, hence the name Easter Island.
Frontispiece plate from the book Tweejarige Reyze rondom de wereld ter nader ontdekkinge der onbekende zuydlanden, met drie schepen in het jaar 1721 (Dordrecht, Hendrik de Koning, 1764). With the inset title ‘REYZE naar het ZUYDLAND’. Inscribed lower left ‘M: Balen inv. Te Dordrecht by HENDRIK de KONIG, Boerverkoper 1758’.
The expedition of Jacob Roggeveen (1659-1729) Dutch explorer, was the first European contact with the island, in the ships Arend, Thienhoven, and Afrikaansche Galey. The small fleet arrived on 5 April 1722, hence the name Easter Island.
Associated place