Dirck van Delen - The Great Hall of the Binnenhof, The Hague, Great Assembly of the States General [1651]

Dirck van Delen - The Great Hall of the Binnenhof, The Hague, Great Assembly of the States General [1651], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

In 1651 the full States General met from January to August to debate the constitutional situation within the Republic. This was necessary following the sudden death of Stadholder Prince William II in November 1650. This extraordinary assembly took place in the Great Hall of the Binnenhof in The Hague, the former court of the counts of Holland, built in the thirteenth century. Its present name, 'Ridderzaal' or Knight's Hall, is nineteenth-century.

For this gathering of more than three hundred delegates the Great Hall was specially arranged. The shops and stalls along the walls were removed. Benches for the delegates were fixed down the sides of the hall. Opposite the hearth, a table was placed for the presiding officials. The table in the foreground, with the inkstand and pens, books and hourglass, may be the actual table. The tablecloth bears the arms and the motto of the Republic: 'CONCORDIA RES PARVAE CRESCUNT' (Through Unity the Small Become Strong). A copper plate is attached to the painting with hinges. When the flap is opened, the assembly is obscured from view by a wall of paintings.