# Initiation of a Bentvueghel in Rome [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [UNKNOWN MASTER, Dutch]() - Date: 1651-1700 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 96 x 134 cm ## Commentary Initiation of a Bentvueghel in Rome c. 1660 Oil on canvas, 96 x 134 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam In 1623, Dutch painters living in Rome \(Pieter van Laer, Cornelis van Poelenburgh, Bartholomeus Breenbergh and others\) formed a sort of brotherhood, the members of which were known as Bentvueghels \(literally: bids of the flock\). Every newcomer from the north could join the club, but first had to undergo a farcical induction ritual. The Bentvueghels took great pride in their parties as shown by the large number of drawings and even paintings made of them. ## Related artworks - [A Young Woman in a Landscape]() - [Frontispiece]() - [Illustration]() - [Interior of a Dutch Shop Selling Gold and Silver]() - [Johan van Oldenbarnevelt]() - [Portrait of a Silversmith in His Workshop \(detail\)]() - [Portrait of a Silversmith in His Workshop]() - [Portrait of a Young Man]() - [Sara de Peyster at the Age of Two and a Half]() - [Still-Life with Books]() - [The Capture of the Spanish Silver Fleet]() - [The King Drinks!]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()