Scope and Content of Collection
This collection contains prints signed by Romeyn de Hooghe, prints attributed to him, and several in his style or copied after
him. There are a total of 59 pieces on 67 sheets (one piece was subdivided into 9 sheets). They represent the various genres
of De Hooghe's work, but they only constitute a small fraction of his oeuvre. Most relate to contemporary political events
and figures. They usually depict elaborate scenes, with many details of costume, settings, and objects.
The seven allegories were mostly created as title pages or frontispieces; they depict exploration, ship building, and mythology.
The two formal portraits depict John III of Poland and Servatius Galleus. Six Old Testament scenes depicting the tabernacle
in the desert and parts of the Temple in Jerusalem may have served as book illustrations.
The remaining forty-four scenes deal with contemporary history related to the Netherlands, England, and France, some allegorically,
some satirically, and some in a straightforward fashion. The eight general scenes include festival scenes--the funerals of
Queen Mary and Fieldmarshal Paulus Wirtz, peace negotiations, and an allegory of the marriage of William and Mary. Others
depict the political murder of Cornelis and Jan de Wit, the persecution of Protestants in France after the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes (1685), and William leaving for and arriving in England. Nine prints depict contemporary battle or war scenes:
Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Parma taking Valenciennes; the seige of Leiden in 1574; English fortresses and bases; the
war in Macassar (1666-1669); France terrorizing Dutch villages; Christian IV's conquest of Wismar; and the battle of Drogheda.
As with the general histories and satires, the battle scenes are often marked with letters or numbers corresponding to a key
provided alone or within a longer letterpress text.
The twenty-seven satirical scenes most often retain verses or other explanatory letterpress text beneath the image. Dom Johan
Van de Velde's funeral, the murder of the brothers de Wit, Dutch cities, Dutch dealings and wars with Louis XIV, and the Catholic
Church are all satirized in these prints. De Hooghe was well-known for his support of William of Orange, and most of these
prints consequently attack James II and Louis XIV. The greater number of them were created in 1689-1690 and relate to the
events of those years: the birth of the Prince of Wales ("the Old Pretender," son of James II and Mary of Modena), William's
invasion of England, James II's flight to a refuge with Louis XIV in France, and William and Mary's assumption of power in
England's Glorious Revolution.
Arrangement note
The etchings are arranged in 6 series:
Series I: Allegories;
Series II: Portraits;
Series III: History: Old Testament Scenes;
Series IV: History: Contemporary scenes;
Series V: History: Battles and War;
Series VI: Satire.
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