Francesco I d'Este Aids the Duke of Mantua After his Territories were Devastated by the German Armies, from L'Idea di un Principe ed Eroe Cristiano in Francesco I d'Este, di Modena e Reggio Duca VIII [...] 1659

Bartolomeo Fenice created this print depicting Francesco I d'Este aiding the Duke of Mantua. Note the composition, divided into three horizontal bands. The foreground is dominated by a procession of figures and animals. The lines of these figures form a structured pattern that leads the eye into the midground's vast, open space, where tiny figures are seen in the distance near the horizon line. A plume of smoke rises toward the sky. This print is rich in semiotic codes of the 17th century, where patterns and landscapes were not just aesthetic choices but carried political and social meanings. The linear order of the procession is an attempt to stabilize the chaos of war-torn regions, visually imposing order on the landscape. Consider how such prints would have been received, mediating ideas of power, resilience, and recovery during times of conflict. This artwork functions as a form of visual rhetoric, shaping the viewer's perception of historical events and the roles of its key players.