Cornelis Martin (1567-1621) - Filippo II di Spagna — Les genealogies, et anciennes descentes des Comtes de Flandre - 1580

This magnificent copper-engraved print constitutes the historical and ceremonial portrait of Philip II of Habsburg, King of Spain, here recorded in his title of Count of Flanders (indicated at the bottom as Philippe Roy Despaigne, 33e Comte), included in the volume Les genealogies, et anciennes descentes des forestiers et comtes de Flandre, published in Antwerp around 1580 by the Flemish scholar Cornelis Martin. The scene shows the sovereign, full-length, in a noble pose of a captain and absolute monarch, entirely clad in an elegant suit of finely decorated metal plate armor, while around his neck he wears the prestigious Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece suspended on a red ribbon. In his right hand he holds aloft a command baton placed diagonally, while his left hand rests on a sumptuous tournament helmet richly plumed in shades of red, blue, and white, laid on the pedestal beside a grand crowned heraldic shield displaying the complex quarterings of the crowns of Castile, León, Aragon, Sicily, together with the dominions of Austria, Burgundy and the very County of Flanders. The background of the figure forgoes the landscape opening in this plate to focus on an interior, regal and theatrical dimension, dominated by a large rich green-blue drape edged in red that frames the sovereign on a geometrically tiled floor. The plate, originally drawn by the painter Pieter Baltens and impressed with exceptional intaglio precision, bears at the top the heading “Le trentetroisiesme Conte de Flandre” next to page number 119 and plate number 33 at the bottom right. The excellence of the copy is magnificently completed by a refined contemporary watercolor coloring applied entirely by hand and by historical pen-test proofs of the alphabet repeatedly written in ink in the lower margin by an ancient owner.