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Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileBeleg van Breda (blad rechtsonder), 1637 Expugnatio Fortissimae Urbis Bredae Ao.-1637 (titel op object)
after Hendrick Goltzius
Two monumental female figures stand on a pedestal, holding up a detailed map of the Breda region; the figure on the left leans against a column, while the figure on the right holds a mirror entwined with a snake. Above them, a winged figure of Fame blows a trumpet to announce the event, while lines of cavalry and infantry maneuver through the rural landscape in the background. The scene is framed by an ornate architectural border at the bottom, featuring a precise mathematical scale in Rhenish rods.
This work demonstrates the intersection of 17th-century military cartography and moral allegory, framing a geopolitical event through the classical virtues of Strength and Wisdom. The use of precise surveying measurements (Rhenish rods) reflects the era's growing focus on natural philosophy and the mathematical quantification of the physical world.
BARO NIE VAN BREDA Vande A tot de B is lanck 400 Rhynlantse Roeden DEN BOSCH
Translation
BARON OF BREDA From the A to the B is 400 Rhenish rods long DEN BOSCH
Cesare Ripa
The depictions of Prudentia with a mirror and snake, and Fortitudo with a column, follow the influential iconographic standards established in Ripa's Iconologia.
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Engraving
map
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC0
http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.463245
Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
5758 × 4356 px
a0c12492dbcd7321bf202455fa74f23b41bfc50e
January 15, 2020
March 23, 2026
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 1, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.