Artist: Otto van Veen (O.Vaenius) (Netherlandish, 1556–1629), after.
Engraver: Antonio Tempesta (Italian, 1555–1630)
Title: [Gaius Julius] Civilis Separates German and Dutch Troops, from The War of the Romans Against the Batavians.
Titled, Dated, and Signed in plate: Inscription: Lettered monogram lower right: 'AT'; in Dutch lower left: 'Sommighe Triersche, Doornyckers, ende andere stellen hen teghen de / Hollanders. Civilis sprenght tuschen beyde, ende stiltse, reopende, dat / der Holanders voornemen niet en was, over hen oft andere heere te / zyn, maer hen als medghesellen te nemen: waer door sy alle tot hem overvallen.' In Latin lower right: 'Treveri, Nervij et vicini Batavis sese opponunt et proelium / ineunt. Hic Civils eques agmini se Tungrorum intulit, dicens, / non dominari caeteris Batavos velle, sed societatem eorum exposcere. / His dictus pacati animi et ad Batavorum partes allecti.' At bottom center: 22. Latin letterpress on verso.
Dimensions: Sheet 6 1/2" x 8 3/8" (thread margins).
Edition: BATAVORUM CUM ROMANIS BELLUM / DE BATAVISCHE OFT OUDE HOLLANDTSCHE OORLOGHE TEGHEN DE ROMEYNEN
Date: 1611 - 1612.
Materials and Techniques: etching on paper.
Provenance: The Estate of George "Yorgo" Demetrakopoulos; professor, assistant director of the Medieval Institute, and assistant to the dean at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, from 1965-2000.
Condition: Fair. The signs of aging are appropriate for the time. A detailed condition report is available on demand.
Catalog Raisonne: Bartsch. Peintre-graveur XVII.145.581.
Part of: Plate 22/36 from The War of the Romans Against the Batavians (Romanorvm et Batavorvm societas).
Museums and Libraries: The Metropolitan Museum of Art 51.501.3458.
Art Movements, Periods & Schools: Dutch School XVII C. Italian School XVII C.
Note: This entry incorporates text from Wikipedia and the catalog entry of a similar item from the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection.
In 1612 A. Tempesta engraved a series of plates under the title "Batavorum cum Romanis Bellum" after the designs of the Netherlandish artist Otto van Veen. The series consists of 36 numbered engraved plates and illustrates the armed struggle between the ancient Dutch tribes and their Roman oppressors as narrated in Tacitus' Histories. Each plate bears at the bottom an engraved legend in Flemish and in Latin while a detailed explanation is printed on the otherwise blank verso. This historicist work was very popular in its time.