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Original fileAffkomst ende korte historie der graven van Hollandt Zeelandt ende Vrieslandt
About This Work
This print shows a stylized historical figure from a 16th-century book on the genealogy of the Counts of Holland. The figure is clad in ornate Renaissance-era plate armor with a plumed helmet and a heavy fur-lined cloak, holding a massive sword over his shoulder. The adjacent page contains a biography in Dutch Gothic script detailing his lineage and military conflicts.
While primarily a dynastic history, this work was designed by Hendrick Goltzius, the central figure of the Haarlem Mannerists. This circle of artists and thinkers was deeply engaged with Neoplatonic philosophy and the professionalization of the engraving craft as a medium for complex intellectual and esoteric ideas.