Cornelis Martin (1567-1621) - Arnolfo il Giovane, V Conte di Fiandra — Les genealogies, et anciennes descentes des Comtes de - 1580

This magnificent copper engraving constitutes the historical and ceremonial portrait of Arnolfo the Younger, here recorded in his title of fifth Count of Flanders (indicated at the bottom as Arnulphe Le Ievne 5. Comte), inserted 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 noble full-length, in an elevated and elegant pose, wrapped in a long, sumptuous pink mantle bordered with ermine, over an ornate tunic and red stockings, with the head crowned by a richly feathered headdress. In his left hand he solemnly rests on a large heraldic shield chevroned in white and blue, with a circular red shield placed at the center, which is laid on a stone base beside a long knightly sword arranged diagonally. The background offers a suggestive maritime or lakeside landscape opening, dominated on the left by a majestic fortified castle lapped by the waters, with swans in the foreground, under a striped sky where sunrays filter through the clouds on the horizon. The plate, originally drawn by the painter Pieter Baltens and impressed with extraordinary print clarity, bears at the top the inscription “Le cinqviesme Conte de Flandre.” beside the page number 63, while at the bottom center appears the typographic signature I 3 and in the corner of the right-hand stone block one notes the plate number 5. The excellence of the specimen is magnificently completed by a refined contemporaneous hand-applied watercolor coloring.

Dimensions 18 x 26 cm
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