Giovanni de' Medici in overleg met Zwitserse huurlingen

The engraving shows Giovanni de' Medici on horseback in the foreground, gesturing toward a dense forest of pikes held by Swiss mercenaries. In the background, vast armies of infantry and cavalry stretch toward the horizon, conveying the massive scale of the Italian Wars. The work features the dynamic muscularity and complex compositions typical of the Haarlem Mannerists.

As part of a series glorifying the Medici family, this work reflects the political philosophy of 'virtù' championed by thinkers like Machiavelli, who viewed Giovanni dalle Bande Nere as a model for military reform. The engraver, Hendrick Goltzius, was a pivotal figure in the dissemination of Mannerist art, which often interlaced historical narrative with deeper philosophical and alchemical undercurrents.