Charles van Wijk, Arend Odé Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (1920)

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (1547-1619) is considered the most important statesman the Republic of the United Netherlands has ever known. Under his leadership – he was State Advocate from 1586 until his death in 1619 – the republic gained its independence and the form of government it would retain until 1795. Before Van Oldenbarnevelt became State Advocate, he was Pensionary of Rotterdam from 1576 to 1586. During that period, he laid the foundation for Rotterdam's position as the second Dutch port city. In 1602, Van Oldenbarnevelt was involved in the founding of the Dutch East India Company. After the murder of William of Orange in 1584, Van Oldenbarnevelt worked with his son Maurits. They had a falling out over the Twelve Years' Truce (1609-1621), which Maurits, as military commander-in-chief, opposed. In 1619, Van Oldenbarnevelt was sentenced to death for 'high treason' and beheaded at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The statue of Van Oldenbarnevelt is placed in a niche under the mayor's room and was a gift from the then alderman Mr. S. Muller upon completion of the new city hall in 1920. It was designed by Charles van Wijk, who died shortly after his design was approved. The Delft professor AWM Odé completed the work. It is a classical statue, of which there are only a few in Rotterdam. The statue, in combination with the statue of Hugo de Groot an ensemble for the town hall.