Plate 41: Fireworks display in city square with Ferdinand watching from a balcony at right; from Guillielmus Becanus's 'Serenissimi Principis Ferdinandi, Hispaniarum Infantis...'
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 12 15/16 × 17 5/16 in. (32.8 × 44 cm)
Classification
Prints|Prints-Fete
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.7437
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant chaos of 17th-century revelry with *Plate 41* from Guillielmus Becanus's *Serenissimi Principis Ferdinandi, Hispaniarum Infantis*, an exquisite 1636 engraving by Johannes Meursius. This detailed print captures a dazzling fireworks display exploding over a bustling city square, filled with cheering crowds, ornate carriages, and towering buildings. At right, the honored guest—Ferdinand, the Spanish Infante—watches from a grand balcony, embodying the splendor of royal pageantry. Created during the Baroque era, when elaborate public fêtes celebrated political alliances and n...