Allegory of the Triumph of the Netherlands over Spain

Allegory of the Triumph of the Netherlands over Spain

Jan (Pietersz.) Saenredam

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This print glorifies the victory of the Dutch Republic in the battle at Nieuwpoort in 1600. Although this success did not mark a turning point in the republic's war with Spain, the event was joyously celebrated at the time in prints. In Saenredam's engraving, a triumphal chariot, driven by the allegorical figures Prudence and Victory and pulled by Concord and Vigilance, carries the Dutch lion holding aloft a sword that symbolizes the defense of the nation. The orange tree at the back of the chariot, which bears the coat of arms of the house of Nassau-Orange in its branches, relates to Maurits, prince of Nassau-Orange, who commanded the Dutch troops at that time.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Allegory of the Triumph of the Netherlands over SpainAllegory of the Triumph of the Netherlands over SpainAllegory of the Triumph of the Netherlands over SpainAllegory of the Triumph of the Netherlands over SpainAllegory of the Triumph of the Netherlands over Spain

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.