William, Count of Nassau, Prince of Orange

1581

Hendrik Goltzius

Associated Names
Hendrick Goltzius

Artist, Dutch, 1558 - 1617

Hendrik Hondius I

Publisher, Dutch, 1573 - 1649 or after

The image shows a historical figure depicted in an oval frame. The person is visible from the waist up, standing with their head turned towards the viewer. They have a distinguished facial structure, with a beard and short hair. The figure is dressed in armor with ornate patterns, a high ruff, and a sash. They hold a baton in one hand, with a helmet nearby. The background has intricate designs and floral motifs, along with four separate scenes in smaller frames with Latin inscriptions. The overall presentation includes heraldic symbols and text.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 26.9 x 18.2 cm (10 9/16 x 7 3/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1950.14.1236

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein 1996, no. 261, State ii/ii

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

W. B. Dukes [d. 1942], London, (L.2757a); (Sotheby, London, sale July 8, 1942, no. 112); Hermann Marx [d. 1948], Surrey, (L.2816a); (Sotheby, London, sale May 24, 1948, no. 165); Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891 - 1979], Philadelphia, (L.1932d); gift to NGA, 1950.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1921

  • Hirschmann, Otto. Verzeichnis des graphischen Werks von Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617) mit Benutzung der durch E.W. Moest hinterlassenen Notizen zusammengestellt. Leipzig: Verlag von Klinkhardt und Biermann, 1921. Reprint. Braunschweig: Klinkhardt &Bie

1993

  • The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-: no. 261, ii/ii.

Inscriptions

in small cartouche below portrait, in plate: H.Goltzius fecit.; on border of small cartouche below portrait, in plate: Hh ex.; in border around portrait: GUILELM D.G. PR. AVRAICAE. COMES. NASSAUIAE. AET. AN. XLVIII. A. (I)LXXXI.; at top, in border around coat of arms, in plate: IE MAINTIENDRAY; in cartouche at bottom, in plate: Impia vis fremat: Haec animo cura una sedebit, / Intrepida Rex Christe manu (dum vita superstes) / Rite tuam ut possim per dura pericula, legem, / Commissumque gregem, et patriae pia iura tueri. (The violent godless must tremble. This one care occupies me, Lord Christ, that so long as I live, undaunted by the arduous dangers, I can protect Thy law, the flock entrusted to me, and the sacred privileges of the fatherland.); under vignette at upper left, in plate: Hac uce clarescit mihi nox. (The night is illuminated for me by this light.); under vignette at upper right, in plate: Hac protegor umbra. (I am protected by this shadow.); under vignette at lower right, in plate: Saevis tranquillus in undis. (Calm amidst the raging seas.); under vignette at lower left, in plate: Haec mandata sequar. (I shall follow these commandments.)
[Latin translations from Leeflang, Huigen, and Ger Luijten. Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617): Drawings, Prints and Paintings. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, 2003, p. 67.]

Wikidata ID

Q65356296

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