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Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThis engraving presents the coffin of William the Silent resting under a canopy within a vaulted church, flanked by a massive display of ancestral heraldry. To the right, an ornate cartouche with scrollwork and floral motifs contains a Latin inscription describing the 1584 funeral event. The work combines architectural documentation with the formal decorative language of late 16th-century Mannerism.
Hendrick Goltzius was a central figure in the Haarlem Mannerist circle, and his commemorative prints for the House of Orange-Nassau helped define the visual identity of the nascent Dutch Republic. This work reflects the period's focus on the public ritual of death and the transition of power, elements central to late Renaissance 'memento mori' culture.
Hæc Pompa funebris spectata fuit Batavorum Delphis, tertio die Augusti: A° 15 8 4 . Ante depictos hos tubicines prodibant ciues Delphenses armati, sed lugubri habitu tamen: quique fuerant ex Principis familia, tum nobiles, tum ignobiles, cum suis famulis: et illi qui Principi fuerant a rationibus: eiusque Secretarij . Henricus Goltzius excudebat.
Translation
This funeral procession was witnessed at Delft in the Netherlands, on the third day of August: in the year 1584. Before these depicted trumpeters marched the citizens of Delft armed, yet in mourning attire: and those who had been of the Prince's household, both noble and ignoble, with their servants: and those who had been the Prince's accountants: and his secretaries. Henricus Goltzius printed this.
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 158 mm x width 358 mm
architectural
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.