Ingolstadt, 1632

INGOLSTADT

A view, looking north-north-east across the Danube to Ingolstadt which was besieged by Gustavus Adolphus and the Swedish army from the middle of April 1632 and abandoned on 1st May. Thirty Years War (1618-1648).

Duffy in Siege warfare p.180 says about this event: 'Gustavus appeared before Ingolstadt on 19 April and the next day, according to his custom, he rode in to make a close reconnaissance. "The gunners of Ingolstadt realised that the royal party signified something out of the ordinary, and they judged their aim so well that a shot carried away the crupper of the king's horse and covered him with blood and dust". The fortress proved to be manifestly too strong to take.' The siege was raised on 1 May (Cambridge Modern History (1907) p.214).

This view is a very close copy (or vice versa) of Merian's view of the siege which appears between pp.526 and 527 in the Theatrum Europeaum, vol.II, which was first published in 1633. Apart from minor differences in the engraved detail, the principal distinguishing feature of the two views is that the names which appear on the Royal Collection example are in Dutch rather than in German.

Although this print does not have the usual physical attributes of the Dal Pozzo collection, it is consistent with other examples of Dutch versions of the Merian views which can be shown to have belonged to the Dal Pozzos and it seems reasonable, therefore, to assign this provenance to this item.

The title is presented below the coat of arms of Ingolstadt.