Inscription on the inauguration of the theatre on the Leidseplein in Amsterdam, 1774

Large sheet with an oval allegorical representation and a two-line verse on the inauguration of the new Amsterdam Schouwburg on the Leidseplein on 15 September 1774. This city theater was built to replace the theater on the Keizersgracht, which burned down in 1772, and itself burned down in 1890. In the center, the personification of the Amsterdam Schouwburg, with a new beehive on her lap, welcomes a man and two children. To her right, two putti unroll an image of the new building. In the foreground, books and writings with theatrical works. In the distance, Apollo, the Muses, and Pegasus on Parnassus.