Anonymous: Portrait of Barthold Entens van Mentheda (1572)

(Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands)

A low budget painting by an anonymous Dutch artist. The man on this painting is Barthold Entens van Mentheda, lord of Middelstum (1539-1580) and came from the borg (= a type of castle) Mentheda in Middelstum (a town in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands). He and his family were supporters of 'the new faith', Calvinism, and Barthold qucikly was fighting almost everywere for his faith. He joined the Dutch rebels at sea known as the 'Watergeuzen' and became the second-in-command of the watergeuzen admiral William II de La Marck, lord of Lumey (1542-1578), and as such Barthold was present during the famous capture of Brielle on 1 April 1572. Barthold was killed by a stray bullet during the failed siege of Groningen in 1580 when, being drunk, he showed his head in a embrasure. The text on the painting shows the name of Barthold and his personal motto: 'FROLIICH MET EEREN' (= 'Merry with Honor'). The coat-of-arms on the right is of Barthold. Painting from 1572.