Triomfpoort met allegorische figuren en putti met de ketting van het orde van de Gulden Vlies, 1594 1594

This is a 1594 print by an anonymous artist, now in the Rijksmuseum, showing a triumphal arch with allegorical figures and putti holding the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Images like this offer us a window into the visual culture and political machinations of the late 16th century. Made during a time of religious conflict and dynastic ambition in the Low Countries, the arch probably commemorates a specific event or individual. The Order of the Golden Fleece was a prestigious Catholic chivalric order associated with the Habsburg dynasty. Triumphal arches were erected as temporary structures for civic celebrations. This print gives a lasting image of ephemeral political statements. It makes reference to both classical and Christian iconographies. Catalogues of emblems and imprese, architectural treatises, and records of civic ceremonies are just some of the resources that help historians unpack the meanings embedded in this kind of image. These sorts of images both reflect and shape the social order.