Clement VII besieged in Castel Sant'Angelo

Pope Clement VII besieged in the Castel Sant' Angelo, Rome; two cannons are aimed at the building between a gateway flanked with statues of St Peter and St Paul.

Engraving and etching and letterpress, 1556, lettered below centre "MHeemskerck. Inuentor.". At upper left corner "Cock Cum / privilegio". Numbered below left "iiij". Letterpress on sheet "1527" and two lines "CAPTA URBE, ... REDEMPTUS" and two columns of text "Tomada Roma ... ". Numbered "IIII".

The engraving was made by Dirk Volkertsz Coornhert based on a drawing by Maarten van Heemskerck, now preserved in Hamburg.

The print is part of a series of twelve engravings and etchings made in 1556 by Coornhert based on a drawing by Maarten van Heemskerck. The series' great success is evidenced by the seven editions that followed (New Hollstein, Maarten van Heemskerck, vol. 2, p. 200). The exact commissioner of the series is unknown, but it is speculated that it may have been Antoine Perrenot of Grenvelle, former advisor to Charles V and president of the States General of the Netherlands (Rosier, 1990-1991, p. 38). The intent of the series is eminently celebratory: the figure of Charles V is portrayed as a ruler over the peoples of Europe and the world, but above all as a victor over the German Protestant princes.

Magnificent work, rich in tones, printed on contemporary laid paper without watermark, with margins, in perfect condition.

Bibliografia

The New Hollstein: Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts 1450-1700 - Maarten van Heemskerck - 527.III; Riggs, Hieronymus Cock, Printmaker and Publisher (116).