Eighty Years War (Dutch War of Independence) (1568-1648)
Contemporary prints and maps of the battles and sieges of the Eighty Years War
Siege of Zaltbommel, 1599
1599 or laterEngraving; printed on paper; mounted on paper (Mount Type B); gilt edges left, bottom and right | 34.6 x 47.3 cm (image and sheet) | RCIN 721091
A high oblique view of the siege of Zaltbommel, 15 May-13 June 1599, garrisoned by the Dutch and commanded by Maurice of Nassau, by the Spanish, commanded by Francesco de Mendoza (1546-1623), resulting in a Spanish retreat. Eighty Years War (Dutch War of Independence) (1568-1648). Oriented with south to top.
Zaltbommel was an important border fortress whose surrounding fortifications had been strengthened earlier by Maurice of Nassau. The ravelins and bastions which he added outside the medieval walls, which were retained, can all be seen in this view. The pontoon bridge, seen here, was used to import troops and supplies into the town. Mendoza had built St Andrew’s fort (annotated here ‘Propugnaculum S: Andreæ’), but Maurice’s forces had constructed another fort at the confluence of the Waal and Maas river (bottom left) and had camped on the north side of the Waal. Mendoza, making no headway in his siege, eventually retreated.
The figure of Gideon is shown bl, with the dew falling on the fleece at his feet – an allegorical representation of the virgin birth but the figure of Gideon here doubtless represents his strength and judgment in defeating the Midianite army, a reference perhaps to Maurice’s prowess in defeating the Spaniards. The figure of Judas Maccabeus, bottom right, whose rebel army took control of Judea, is doubtless a reference to Maurice’s successful leadership of the Dutch rebels and his bid to gain control of the Spanish territories in the Netherlands.
The attribution to Bast and van Berckenrode is given in the Rijksmuseum entry for this print (RP-P-OB-80.379).
? Pieter Bast (c.1550-1605) (printmaker)
? Floris Balthasarsz. van Berckenrode (1562/3-1616) (printmaker) [bottom right, outside oval frame, the privilege of the States General:] Cum Priuilegio.
Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) (author)
Watermark: An outline ‘K’ in a circle
Condition: one fold line to print, not coincident with fold line on mount; pressure marks from the mounts of items which were kept above and below this map/print in a different collection are present on the recto and verso
34.6 x 47.3 cm (image and sheet)
40.6 x 54.7 cm (mount)
Printed title:
None
Additional text:
(around the oval frame, a poem:]
Innumeri sumptus ad millia multa Philippûm,
Impensaeque operae prodigus hostis erat.
Nec satis hoc: carum consumit tempus, ut urbem
Bommeliam longo vinceret obsidio.
Nassouius prohibet: quid agat, ne nil agat hostis!
In nostro Castrum construit ille solo.
En maioris opus sumptus, operæque paratur:
Hic iterum demens tempus inane terit.
Obsidium forte est: forte est ante omnia Castrum:
Fortior unius dextera Maurity.
Cum sumptu, ac operâ cum tempore perdidit urbem:
Mox Castrum: quid adhuc! se quoque perdet iber.
H. Grotius.[bottom left, a helmed figure holding a horn and a kettle, a cartouche below reads:] GEDION. [bottom right, a warrior with shield, helmet and spear, a cartouche below reads:] IVDAS MACHABEVS.
Annotations:
George III heading: Bommel 1599.
Other annotations: (Recto) [top centre, on mount, black pencil:] Bommel taken by Prince Maurice; [bottom right and bottom, right of centre, black pencil:] 1599. (Verso) [top left, on view, red pencil:] 1/83; [top left, on view, black pencil, erased and illegible: a number]; [top right, on mount, black pencil, erased:] Bommel.
George III catalogue entry:
Bommel A Plan of Bommel and the adjacent Country, with the Spanish and Dutch Armies in 1599.
Subject(s)
Zaltbommel, Gelderland, Netherlands (51°48ʹ36ʺN 05°14ʹ40ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
E. Mâle, Religious art in France of the thirteenth century, Mineola, 1913, p. 147
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 2736
F. Muller, De Nederlandsche geschiedenis in platen : beredeneerde beschrijving van Nederlandsche historieplaten, zinneprenten en historische kaarten, 4 vols, Amsterdam 1863-1882, dl. I (jaren 100 tot 1702), p. 130, nr. 1093
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
