New Sources for Jacques Callot's Map of the Siege of Breda

Abstract

Callot's Map of the Siege of Breda is one of the richest images produced during the Eighty Years' War in the Netherlands. It has been examined, however, only within catalogues and general books on the artist's work. The present analysis publishes the earliest documents on the map, which re-date the project to the months immediately following the capitulation of Breda to Spain. It is also demonstrated that much of Callot's imagery was based on a journal written by Hermannus Hugo, who was field chaplain to the Spanish commander Spinola. Hugo's chronicle provided Callot with invaluable information on the siege, and served as a useful guide for the order of the army of Flanders. The celebration of victory, achieved through Spínola's humane management of his army, is the dominant message of Callot's map.

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Notes on contributors

Simone Zurawski

Simone Zurawski received her Ph.D. from Brown University. She is presently working on a study of connections between art, politics, and culture in the period of the Thirty Years' War [Department of Art, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614-3214].