Captain de Bours handing over the Keys to the Citadel of Antwerp to the Estates General

Art Historical Context

In the mid-16th to early 17th century Flemish artist Maerten de Vos created this intricate preparatory drawing, *Captain de Bours handing the Keys to the Citadel Antwerp to the Estates General Rendered on a circular sheet just 15.9 cm in diameter, it captures a pivotal moment of surrender: the Spanish captain Philippe de Bours symbolically yielding the fortress keys to representatives of the Dutch Estates General amid a backdrop of houses and figures, including generals. De Vos, a prominent Antwerp Mannerist known for history scenes and religious works, employed his signature detailed style to evoke ceremony and drama. Historically, the scene commemorates the 1578 fall of Antwerp's Citadel during the Dutch Revolt against Spanish Habsburg rule. Following the Pacification of Ghent, this event marked a key victory for the Protestant rebels and States General, briefly liberating the prosperous port city before its brutal Spanish reconquest in 1585. Such drawings often served propaganda purposes, celebrating emerging Dutch independence. Artistically, de Vos masterfully combined pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, heightened by white gouache for luminosity, on a sheet incised for transfer—likely to a copperplate for engraving or tapestry cartoon. This technique ensured precise replication, highlighting the drawing's role in print culture and its preservation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Purchase, Sally Sample Aall and Stephen A. Geiger Gifts, 1995). A testament to Flemish draftsmanship, it invites visitors to ponder the fragile hopes of rebellion.