Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileReproductie van een titelpagina met half geklede vrouwen en een naakte man door Hendrick Goltzius
after Hendrick Goltzius
About This Work
At the center, the armored figure of Roma sits enthroned, holding a scepter and a small statue of Victory. Below her, a muscular river god reclines beside the legendary she-wolf suckling the twins Romulus and Remus. The composition is framed by the coats of arms of the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Bohemia, signifying the work's dedication to Emperor Rudolf II.
This work is a product of the Haarlem Mannerists and was dedicated to Emperor Rudolf II, whose court in Prague was the primary European center for alchemy, Hermeticism, and the occult sciences. The engraving reflects the late Renaissance effort to harmonize classical Roman virtues and mythology with the political and philosophical authority of the Holy Roman Empire.