Allegory on the Abdication of Emperor Charles v in Brussels

Frans Francken (II), c. 1635 - c. 1640

Charles V is enthroned at centre. Battle weary and wracked by illness, in 1555 he divided up his empire. He gave his brother Ferdinand (left of the throne) the Holy Roman Empire, while his son Phillip (at the right) became King of Spain and Lord of the Netherlands. The three figures in the right foreground personify the continents America, Africa and Asia over which Charles’s vast empire also stretched. Neptune (left) symbolizes his power at sea.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-112
  • Dimensionssupport: height 132.6 cm x height 132.8 cm x width 170.7 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on panel

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Allegory of the Abdication of Emperor Charles V
    • Allegory on the Abdication of Emperor Charles v in Brussels

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-112

  • Description

    Allegorie op de troonsafstand van keizer Karel V te Brussel, 25 oktober 1555. In het midden bovenaan zit Karel V op zijn troon, links Ferdinand I, rechts Filips II, koning van Spanje. Voor Filips knielen de personificaties van de gebieden van het keizerrijk met vaandels. Op de voorgrond brengen personificaties van de werelddelen Amerika, Afrika, Europa en Azië geschenken. Links Neptunus op zijn triomfwagen getrokken door zeepaarden, met zeemeermannen en zeemeerminnen, tritons etc. Op de kar een globe en de twee zuilen met een banderol met het opschrift Plus Ultra.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    • inscription, centre left, on the banderol round the Corinthian column: ‘PLVS.VLTRA.’
    • coat of arms, above right, on the green standard, from the left, first row: of the duchies of Brabant, Limbourg, Luxembourg, Guelders; second row: of the counties of Flanders, Artois, Hainault, Holland; third row: of the counties of Zeeland, Namur, Zutphen and the Margraviate of the Holy Roman Empire; fourth row: of the lordships of Mechelen, (?)Utrecht, Friesland, Overijssel; bottom row: of Groningen
    • coat of arms, above centre, on the tester behind the throne, of the archduchy of Austria
    • coat of arms, above right, on the pink standard, from the left, top row: of the kingdoms of Castille, Leon, Aragon; second row: of Navarre, Grenada, Toledo, ?; third row: of Minorca, Galicia, Cordova, Catalonia
    • inscription, bottom left, on the globe, from top left: ‘MARE NORT[?] / AFRICA / BRASIIA [sic]/ NVBIA / OCEAN’
    • coat of arms, above right, on the yellow standard, from the left, top row: of the kingdoms of Sicily, Naples; in the centre: of the duchy of Milan; bottom row: of the kingdoms of Sardinia, Corsica
    • signature, bottom right: ‘FFRANCK’
    • inscription and date, bottom right: ‘S[ANCTI]: R[OMANI]: IMPERII SPONTANEA RESIGNATIO A. CAROLO V. IMP[ERATORE]. IN FERD[INANDUM]:I.FR[ATREM]:REGNORUM Q[UE]. HÆRED[ITATIS] IN / PH[I]L[IPPU]M. II HISP[ANIAE]. REGEM FIL[IUM] FACTA BRVX[ELL]:Æ.1555. / EX INVEN[TIONE]:D.[OMINI] PETRI.DE.HANNICART.’

  • Part of catalogue

Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Frans Francken (II)

  • Dating

    c. 1635 - c. 1640

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on panel

  • Dimensions

    support: height 132.6 cm x height 132.8 cm x width 170.7 cm

This work is about

  • Person

  • Subject

  • Place

  • Period

    1555-10-25

Acquisition and rights

  • Acquisition

    purchase 1805

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …;{An unidentified seal on the reverse showing the elaborately patterned initials (?)RB beneath a crown is that of a previous owner.} from Heer George, The Hague, fl. 2,550, to the museum, 1805/06;{E.W. Moes and E. van Biema, _De Nationale Konst-Gallery en Het Koninklijk Museum_, Amsterdam 1909, pp. 83-84, 106, 131, no. 79 of his receipt, and p. 216.} on loan to the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, 2002-03; on loan to the Stedelijk Museum het Prinsenhof, Delft, 2004-08

Documentation

    • H.J. Horn, Revue d'art canadienne Art Review I (1986), p. 23-29
    • Vittu, Jean Cornelisz. Vermeyen, Institut des belles lettres Arabes CXL (1979), p. 73, 246.
    • Inzoomer object op zaal, 2013 (Nederlands/English).

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