20/42?

About this artwork

Een soldaat, ten voeten uit, naar rechts, die zijn spies (lans) met beide handen bij zijn rechterzijde draagt, de punt schuin omhoog gericht en vlakbij zijn buik. Ontwerptekening voor plaat 20 in de instructies voor het hanteren van de spies in de Wapenhandelinghe van J. de Gheyn (1607). Krijgswezen rond 1600. Ontwerp voor een prent.

Art Historical Context

Behold the meticulous pen drawing *20/42?* by Jacques de Gheyn, created between 1596 and 1606. This full-length study depicts a soldier facing right, gripping his pike— a long spear essential to 17th-century infantry—with both hands at his right side, the tip angled upward near his belly. Measuring 268 × 186 mm, it's a preparatory sketch for plate 20 in Gheyn's seminal 1607 manual, *Wapenhandelinghe*The Exercise of Arms*), which standardized pike drill through 117 engraved illustrations. De Gheyn, a leading Dutch artist of the Mannerist tradition, captured military precision amid the Eighty Years' War, as the Netherlands fought for independence from Spain. His work revolutionized tactical training, influencing armies across Europe and preserving the era's "krijgswezen" (art of war) in vivid detail. This drawing exemplifies his masterful pen technique: fine lines convey anatomy, fabric folds, and weapon balance, designed for translation into prints that democratized military instruction. A window into Renaissance warfare's discipline, it highlights how art intersected with innovation, turning soldiers into synchronized machines on the battlefield.