Statue of Duke Albas in Antwerp

Engraving after a contemporary illustration

The statue of Duke Albas in Antwerp was a bronze statue of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo , called Alba, in the courtyard of the citadel of Antwerp . It showed him as the conqueror of the rebellious Dutch nobles and peasants. It was set up in 1571 and quickly known through copper engravings. However, as early as 1574 after Alba's recall, Philip II had the statue removed again. In 1577 the Dutch captured the citadel and destroyed it.

The design comes from the Spanish theologian Benedictus Arias Montanus , and the executive artist of the group of figures was Jacques Jonghelinck . The base was a work by Willem van den Broeck .

history

The material came from cannons captured from the Battle of Jemgum . Alba had decisively defeated Ludwig von Nassau and celebrated this with the installation of a victory monument in the courtyard of the citadel he had built. The pictorial program was designed by the Spanish theologian Benedictus Arias Montanus, while the group of figures was executed by the Flemish sculptor and medalist Jacques Jonghelinck. Jonghelinck's work was documented on the plinth : IVNGELINGI OPVS EX AERE CAPTIVO. The base came from Willem van den Broeck . The statue was five meters high. It quickly became known through copper engravings, but it was dismantled again in 1574 after Albas was recalled and destroyed in 1577 after the Dutch had taken the citadel. In the 17th century, a fragment in the shape of the thumb of the peace hand is said to have been in the possession of the poet and historiographer Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft , as mentioned in the Nederlandsche Historien .

Image program

Alba walks in armor over a multi-armed, double-headed figure. This representation is modeled on Hercules ' conquering the Hydra or Cerberus . Alba is fully armed, except for his right arm, which he stretches out in a gesture of peace. The monstrous figure at his feet is endowed with several attributes. The remarks of Benedictus Arias Montanus have been handed down: One of the arms holds the petition that was presented to Madame de Parma . This is also what the mask refers to, because the Geuzen (beggars) would soon have shown their true intentions. The ear jewelry in the form of wooden bowls and the begging bags from which snakes crawl also refer to the term “beggar”. The hammer stands for the destruction of the churches, the wooden ax for the iconoclasm , the morning star for the attack on the king, the torch for the pillage of the churches and the country. The double headedness indicates heresy . One of the heads belongs to a nobleman, the other to a peasant.

The left base relief shows a shepherd with, in the biblical sense, pure animals such as sheep, cattle and deer. Above him in the clouds, the personified dawn drives away the darkness and with it the unclean animals like snakes, toads, wolves, owls and bats. A Spanish word for dawn is "Alba". Duke Alba creates order for King Philip II so that he can pursue his office as a “good shepherd”. A sacrificial fire is burning in the right field, and captured weapons are included. The Latin inscription on the base translates as: “Erected for Ferdinand Álvarez of Toledo, Duke of Alba, governor of Philip II, the most loyal servant of the best prince, in the Netherlands because he suppressed the uprising, drove out the rebels, protected the faith, Exercised justice and established peace in the provinces. "

Contemporary reactions

Leaflet on the statue of Duke Alba . Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, ca.1572

Geuzen medal for the demolition of the monument. Engraving in: Histoire Metallique des XVII provinces des Pay-Bas , 1732

Wilhelm I of Orange polemicized in 1572 in his work Germaniam inferiorem libertati vindicantis ad ordines et populum denuntiatio :

“Your petitions are contemptuously rejected without even listening to them. They are suppressed with the gesture of the right hand that restores peace, which means nothing other than that all free votes in votes and legislative proposals at court are suppressed [...]. "

The monument quickly became the subject of satire: a leaflet from around 1572 in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam shows a modification in the Alba of time and the devil floating around justice and truth, as well as trampling a widow and an orphan. A Geuzen medal appeared on the occasion of the demolition of the monument in 1574. This shows the monument on the front together with the rising Icarus , a cannon and a furnace and on the back the fall of Satan .

literature

• Cornelia Manegold: Clementia principis. Intention and reception of the statue for Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Third Duke of Alba (1507–1582). In: Martin Espenhorst (Ed.): Ignorance and misunderstandings in the premodern peace process. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2013, ISBN 978-3-525-10127-8 , pp. 41-70.

Web links

Commons : Statue of Duke Albas in the citadel of Antwerp  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Cornelia Manegold: Clementia principis. Intention and reception of the statue for Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Third Duke of Alba (1507-1582). In: Martin Espenhorst (Ed.): Ignorance and misunderstandings in the premodern peace process. Göttingen 2013, pp. 41–70, here pp. 53 ff.
2. ↑ Quoted from Jochen Becker: Arrogance comes before the fall. To the statue of Albas in the citadel of Antwerp 1571–1574. In: Simiolus. Art-historical Tijdschrift. Vol. 5, 1971.
3. ^ Cornelia Manegold: Clementia principis. Intention and reception of the statue for Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Third Duke of Alba (1507-1582). In: Martin Espenhorst (Ed.): Ignorance and misunderstandings in the premodern peace process. Göttingen 2013, pp. 41–70, here p. 58.
4. ↑ Gorch Pieken : "Voor een 'vryen Staet" The Netherlands, the empire and "tyrants" in the crisis years 1572 and 1672. Chapter 2: The reign of terror of the Duke Alba. In: Deutsches Historisches Museum , 2004, accessed on January 20, 2014.
5. ^ Cornelia Manegold: Clementia principis. Intention and reception of the statue for Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Third Duke of Alba (1507-1582). In: Martin Espenhorst (Ed.): Ignorance and misunderstandings in the premodern peace process. Göttingen 2013, pp. 41–70, here p. 68.
6. ↑ Spotprent op het standbeeld van Alva. In: GeheugenVanNederland.nl , accessed on February 12, 2014.
7. ^ Cornelia Manegold: Clementia principis. Intention and reception of the statue for Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Third Duke of Alba (1507-1582). In: Martin Espenhorst (Ed.): Ignorance and misunderstandings in the premodern peace process. Göttingen 2013, pp. 41–70, here pp. 59 ff.