Ondersoeckt de Geesten, ofse van den Duyvel syn, of niet (the De Witt brothers as devils)
An etched broadsheet shows Johan and Cornelis de Witt flying through the air as winged, horned devils over a restless crowd, with the Prince of Orange beside the Garden of Holland and, at right, a church from which the pope and the French king look on. The title tells readers to test 'whether the spirits are of the devil'; the devil label and the lettered pile of grievances laid on two men are the tells.
- Date
- 1672
- Period
- Pre-1914
- Made by
- Jacob de Lambre, author-engraver of the pamphlet 'Het Ondersoeck der Geesten', Dutch Republic
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- Dutch Republic
- Medium
- Issuer type
- Individual
- Regime
- Stadtholderate of William III
- Leader
- William III of Orange
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Demonize
- Themes
- Elections and party politics, War and the military, Religion
- Event
- Franco Dutch War
- Techniques
- ScapegoatingName-calling
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Rijksmuseum, retrieved September 29, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (etched 1672-1675; Rijksmuseum data marks CC0 1.0)
Jacob de Lambre, Ondersoeckt de Geesten, ofse van den Duyvel syn, of niet, Dutch Republic, 1672-1675; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, RP-P-OB-77.217
Text on the object
ONDERSOECKT DE GEESTEN, OFSE VAN DEN DUYVEL SYN, OF NIET. [numerals and letters keyed to the pamphlet, e.g. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; not readable as words] Jacob de L.. Am[b]re fec. inv. [illegible: perhaps 'et exc.']
TEST THE SPIRITS, WHETHER THEY ARE OF THE DEVIL, OR NOT. Jacob de L.. Am[b]re made and designed it [remainder illegible].
Read from a 2800 px scan. The signature is partly cut into the plate edge and worn; the Rijksmuseum names the maker as Jacob de Lambre. The many small figures carry only numerals and letters.
