Proclamatie te Gent van Karel II van Spanje als graaf van Vlaanderen (blad 3), 1666 1666 - 1667

This is Lucas Vorsterman the Younger's 1666 engraving, depicting the proclamation in Ghent of Charles II of Spain as Count of Flanders. The composition presents us with a structured hierarchy of representation. At the top, we see a row of oval portraits, each meticulously detailed and framed with heraldic symbols, visually asserting the lineage and authority of the figures depicted. Below this, Vorsterman presents a panoramic cityscape of Ghent, rendered with careful attention to perspective. The use of line and space serves to establish not just a physical setting, but also a symbolic one. The structured arrangement of portraits above the cityscape creates a visual system of signs. The portraits, emblems of power, are literally positioned above the city they govern. This interplay between representation and reality, between power and place, highlights the complex relationships between rulers and their subjects, inviting us to consider the semiotic codes embedded within the image, and how these codes reinforce or challenge existing power structures.