Cornelis Martin (1567-1621) - Arnolfo il Vecchio, III Conte di Fiandra — Les genealogies, et anciennes descentes Comtes de Flandre - 1580

This magnificent copper engraving constitutes the historical portrait with its apparatus of Arnolfo the Elder, here registered under his title of third Count of Flanders (indicated in the caption as Arnoul Le Viel 3e Comte), included in the volume Les genealogies, et anciennes descentes dei forestiers et comtes de Flandre, published in Antwerp around 1580 by the Flemish scholar Cornelis Martin. The scene shows the noble in full figure in a proud pose of a medieval commander, wrapped in a brown tunic bordered with white fur at the lower edge, completed by a golden belt, dark hose, and a wide-brimmed coordinated hat. With his right hand open, he makes a solemn gesture, while with his left arm he wields a heraldic shield chequered in white and blue with a circular red escutcheon placed at the center, while from the arm hangs a long rosary. At his feet, laid on the ground, appear the disassembled pieces of his war armor: a jeweled tournament helmet with a plume, the metallic gauntlets, and a sword with a red scabbard. The background offers a wide hilly landscape with rivers, a fortified village on the left with red roofs and a large dome, and a rural settlement on the right beneath a sky streaked with clouds. The plate, originally drawn by the painter Pieter Baltens and stamped with extraordinary fine engraving, bears at the top the heading “Le troisiesme Conte de Flandre.” beside the page number 59, while at the bottom center the typographic mark I appears, and in the corner of the engraved plate the plate number 3.. The excellence of the exemplar is magnificently complemented by a refined contemporaneous color wash executed entirely by hand.

Dimensions 18 x 26 cm
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