Stranded Whale at Beverwijk, 1601

On the beach at Beverwijk lies the whale that ran aground on January 13, 1601. Many spectators have gathered. On the left, an artist, probably Jan Saenredam himself, is drawing the animal. Some men are measuring the whale. A distinguished group watches. The main figure in that group is Ernest Casimir, Count of Nassau and hero in the struggle against Spain. The scene is framed in a striking border in which all sorts of details related to the whale news are incorporated. In the upper left sits Father Time. In the center above, the four-line inscription of Saenredam to Ernest Casimir in Latin. At the bottom, a Latin description of the animal on a cartouche with shell motifs, and below the scene, a 32-line Latin text.