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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileBlazoen of nieuwjaarskaart van de Haarlemse rederijkerskamer De Pellicaen. In het midden in een ovaal Christus aan het kruis hierbij een banderol met het devies Trou moet blycken. Op de ac, NL-HlmNHA 1477 53010805
after Hendrick Goltzius
This engraving centers on Christ crucified upon a living branch, framed by a wreathed oval and the motto 'Trou moet blycken' (Loyalty must be shown). To the left, an allegorical figure of Faith holds a cross, while Hope stands on the right with her anchor. At the foot of the cross, a pelican pierces its own breast to feed its young with its blood, a symbol of self-sacrifice set against a distant view of Haarlem.
As a blazoen for a Dutch Rederijkerskamer, this work reflects the intersection of civic literary culture and religious emblemata. The pelican-in-her-piety is a central motif in both Christian iconography and the alchemical tradition, where it symbolizes the 'Great Work' and the stage of rubedo or rejuvenation through sacrificial essence.
H. Goltzius Inuentor Maetham Sculptor INRI Trou moet blycken Indien wy vast in HOPE staen, GOODS WOORT GELOVICK niet beswycken, So sal d'oprechte PELICAEN Altijt thonen dat TROV MOET BLYCKEN
Translation
H. Goltzius Inventor Maetham Sculptor INRI Faith must be proven If we stand firm in HOPE, Believing in GOD'S WORD without fail, Then the righteous PELICAN Shall always show that FAITH MUST BE PROVEN
Atalanta Fugiens by Michael Maier
Maier employs the pelican as a primary alchemical symbol for the nourishment of the philosopher's stone, mirroring the self-sacrificial imagery used here.
Roemer Visscher
Visscher's 'Sinnepoppen' and other Dutch emblem books of this period codify the moral and philosophical meanings of the figures and symbols depicted.
Object
Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem
Engraving
emblem
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
https://hdl.handle.net/21.12102/9d77bde8-5b03-34e7-2af7-a2a95d875619
Public domain
1097 × 1295 px
6ce62389703c2e3c31fa31ea34fec4716fe07e11
April 19, 2019
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.