Conference paper “From Power Brokers to Rebels. How Frans Hogenberg Depicted the Beginning of the Dutch Revolt”

In our up-coming conference on the visualisation of revolt and punishment, Ramon Voges (University of Paderborn) will early present depictions of the Dutch Revolt.

In his current research, he is especially concerned with Frans Hogenberg, a famous Flamish engraver with a workshop in Cologne that he run together with his brother, and published extensively on French Wars of Religion and the Dutch Revolt.

In 1570/71, Frans Hogenberg published his first series of broadsheets covering the events that were later known as the Dutch Revolt. His prints depict the struggle for power and faith between the royal government of Philip II and the heterogeneous Dutch factions. By showing these conflicts, Hogenberg’s prints themselves played an eminent political role. This paper will argue, in contrast to the mainstream historical research, that they were no neutral accounts of the actual events but took part in the struggle. For this purpose, this paper offers a close reading of the prints representing the very beginning of the conflict up to the punishment of Egmond and Hoorn, two leading power brokers of the Dutch nobility. Thereby new insights on the complex relationship between power, faith, and their early modern visual representations will be gained.