visitors' guide to the presentation (PDF, 341 kB) - Koninklijk Museum ...

RUBENS REVEALED
VICTORY ON A ROLL
Oil Sketch for the Triumphal Chariot of Kallo
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen (KMSKA)
DOCUMENTAL PRESENTATION Museum Rockoxhouse, Antwerp
11.02.2012 - 13.05.2012

Rubens revealed
Victory on a Roll
Oil Sketch for the Triumphal Chariot of Kallo
Victory on a Roll. Oil Sketch for the Triumphal Chariot of Kallo is a
documental presentation of the Rubens project set up by the Antwerp
Royal Museum of Fine Arts. This exhibition presents the results of a
study into the context and significance of Peter Paul Rubens’ oil
sketch The Triumphal Chariot of Kallo, 1638.
The exhibition will be held at the Rockox House Museum in Antwerp
from 11 February to 13 May 2012.
The centrepiece is a design for a triumphal chariot that the Antwerp
magistracy commissioned Rubens to make, the occasion for the
commission being the victory of the Spanish armies over the Dutch
troops (i.e. those of the Northern Netherlands) at the Battle of Kallo.
The first section of the exhibition is devoted to historical prints of the
battle and the victor, Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand. These prints are a
reminder of one of the greatest battles of the Eighty Years’ War and
provide the historical context for Rubens’ sketch. As an illustration of
the joy that erupted in Antwerp following the victory, the authentic
version of The Song of Kallo can be heard. The second section of the
exhibition provides a survey of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century
engravings of triumphal chariots and relates Rubens’ design to the
northern pictorial tradition of allegorical triumphal chariots. The
Triumphal Chariot of Kallo was intended as a festive float to ride in
the Antwerp Ommegang (a procession). Two paintings by Van

Bredael give a detailed picture of a festive seventeenth-century
Ommegang in the centre of Antwerp.
A panorama board accompanying Rubens’ oil sketch elucidates the
iconography of the allegorical presentation.
There is also an audio-visual presentation that details the personages
that Rubens has placed in his sketch. The presentation also dwells on
the pictorial tradition of the Antwerp Ommegang chariots. A collection
of scale models of traditional figures in the Antwerp Ommegang
can be seen in the other rooms of the Rockox House Museum.
This visitor’s guide makes use of the concepts ‘allegory’ and ‘personification’.
‘Allegory’ refers to a symbolic depiction in which mythological
figures, gods, goddesses or personifications play a part. ‘Personification’
indicates a figure (generally female) symbolizing an abstract
idea and sometimes recognizable by an attribute. Thus, for example
Victoria, the personification of Victory, is portrayed with a laurel
wreath, and Antverpia, the city maiden of Antwerp, is recognizable
through her crown in the form of turreted city walls, above which two
hands are sometimes depicted.
The Battle of Kallo
In the summer of 1638, there was an unusually festive atmosphere in
Antwerp, the reason being the news that Spanish troops had won a
glorious victory over the armies of the Northern Provinces. The
encounter took place at Kallo on the Scheldt, a few kilometres north
of Antwerp. Following the triumph, the city celebrated. Many inhabitants
set out for Kallo on foot and returned from the battlefield with
orange festoons taken from the enemy. The military success gained
three days later at St. Omer by Spanish troops fighting against French
(1)

armies heightened the festive joy even further. But what, in fact, was
the cause of the euphoric rejoicing after the battle of Kallo?
During the sixteenth century, Antwerp had developed to become
the biggest and richest port of The Low Countries and a centre of
international seaborne trade. During the revolt of the Northern
Netherlands against Spanish domination – the Eighty Years’ War
(1568-1648) – the city suffered terribly. It was plundered in 1576 by
mutinous Spanish troops in what became known as the ‘Spanish
Fury’, and again in 1583 by the French troops of Anjou (the ‘French
Fury’); two years later, on the orders of the Spanish king, it was subdued
by Alexander Farnese (the Fall of Antwerp). A consequence of
the revolt was that the Hollanders and Zeelanders blocked access to
the Scheldt, demanding such high tolls that the overseas trade fell still.
Commerce in Antwerp was also hit by the taxes imposed under
Spanish rule. Thousands of Protestant citizens forsook the city, not
wishing to be reconciled with the Catholic faith. Among those that
left were many merchants, craftsmen and artists, seeking to find a
better future elsewhere. The blockade of the Scheldt and the exodus of
so many citizens led to the decline of the once so flourishing and
wealthy port.
It is this fact of history that explains the joy at the victory of Kallo, as
the victory – ascribed to the intercession of the Holy Virgin and
St. Aloysius Gonzaga – rekindled hope among the impoverished
citizenry that the lost prosperity would be recovered. At a service in
the Antwerp Cathedral of Our Lady, attended by a great multitude of
the faithful, a Te Deum was sung in the presence of the victor,
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand.
To mark the victory, the Antwerp magistracy decided to add a
triumphal chariot to the annual Ommegang and commissioned
Rubens to prepare a design for it.
(2)

HISTORICAL CONTEXT: THE VICTORY AT KALLO
1
Bonaventura Peeters, Failed Attack on Fort Kallo, 1638, etching,
National Print Collection, Amsterdam.
On 21 June 1638, the Spanish armies under the command of
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria defeated the troops of the
Northern Netherlands (the States). This plan of Kallo and its surroundings
offers a view of the failed attack on Fort Kallo by the States’
troops, commanded by Count Willem of Nassau-Siegen. Inset below
is a map of the Kruisdijk.
(3)

2
Stefano della Bella, Siege of St. Omer, 1638, etching, National Print
Collection, Amsterdam.
A few days after the triumph at Kallo, the Spanish armies defeated the
French at the siege of St. Omer. The town of St. Omer and the
surrounding countryside can be seen on this outline map of the
Flemish and Northern-French coast between Gravelines and
Dunkirk.
The map provides a bird’s-eye view of the siege of the city in 1638. In
the right foreground is a group of soldiers and horsemen. To the left is
a drapery bearing the map legends.
(4)

3
Cornelis Galle the Younger, after a design by Theodoor van Thulden,
Ferdinand Receives the Sword to Fight the States at Kallo, (Tabula
summi altaris ecclesiae parochialis in Calloo), 1638, engraving, Print
Collection, Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp.
The engraving depicts Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria, Governor
of the Southern Netherlands, kneeling to receive the sword from
the hands of St. Paul, who is shown in the heavens in company with
the Madonna with the Child, St. Peter and angels. The armies of the
States can be seen in the background, fleeing after the failed attack on
Fort Kallo. The depiction is an expression of the religious perception
ascribing the victory to the intercession of the Madonna. The engraving
is after an altarpiece by Theodoor van Thulden, which was in the
Church of SS. Peter and Paul in Kallo, and which was probably
removed during the French period.
(5)

4
Theodoor van Thulden, after a design by Peter Paul Rubens, The
Triumph of Ferdinand, engraving, Royal Museum of Fine Arts,
Antwerp.
In 1635, three years before the Battle of Kallo, Cardinal-Infante
Ferdinand was the recipient of a festive welcome in Antwerp, which,
to mark his Blijde Intrede (Joyous Entry) into the city as new Governor
of the Spanish Netherlands, was abundantly decorated with
triumphal arches designed by Rubens. For the centrepiece on the
reverse of Ferdinand’s triumphal arch erected in the Lange Nieuwstraat,
Jan van den Hoecke executed a large-scale picture after a design
by Rubens. The engraving executed by Theodoor van Thulden after
this work was as illustration for the commemorative volume Pompa
Introitus Ferdinandi, 1642, written by Gevartius, the city clerk of
Antwerp.
The depiction symbolises Ferdinand’s triumphal procession after the
Battle of Nördlingen on 6 September 1634. We see Ferdinand standing
in a Roman war chariot and being crowned with a laurel leaf by a
figure of Victory. In the foreground are shackled prisoners of war.
Preceding the chariot are warriors with banners and armour taken
from the enemy. The figure of Victory with laurel wreath, prisoners of
war and captured arms is also used as symbol of triumph in Rubens’
sketch for The Triumphal Chariot of Kallo.
(6)

5
17th-century Matchlock Musket, Vleeshuis Museum, Antwerp.
During the seventeenth century, firearms like the matchlock musket
gained the decisive advantage on the battlefield. Preparing a matchlock
musket for firing took a while. Gunpowder and a ball had to be
loaded into the barrel of the musket and rammed down with a rod.
The matchlock refers to a glowing length of fuse that, after loading,
was clamped in the cock or serpentine (an S-shaped holder). Cocking
the trigger brought the fuse into contact with the gunpowder, thereby
triggering ignition and the firing of the ball. Before aiming and firing,
the weapon was set on a fork or mount. The matchlock musket
remained in use until the end of the seventeenth century.
In order to achieve continuous salvo fire during a battle, musketeers,
once they had fired, turned to the right and moved back through the
ranks of their comrades to reform at the rear. During that countermarch,
they were required to perform all reloading procedures, in
order to be ready to fire again.
(7)

6
Bonaventura Peeters, Failed Attack on Fort Kallo, 1638, etching,
National Print Collection, Amsterdam.
The Failed Attack on Fort Kallo is in fact a news print. An easily reproducible
etching made it possible for there to be widespread dissemination
of news about an important political event, such as a battle. This
particular print bears two pages of text, one in Dutch and one in
French, although an example with a German text has also been preserved.
The failed attack by the army of the States under Count
Willem van Nassau-Siegen is reproduced in detail. We see fleeing
soldiers attempting to gain the waiting boats; in their flight, many
combatants drowned in the marshy area around Fort Kallo. To the
right is Kallo’s Church of SS. Peter and Paul.
The text accompanying the print relates the course of the battle and
details the war booty. The army of the Northern Provinces consisted
of sixty-four companies, totalling 6 700 men, and a 220-strong
cavalry. 2 500 were killed and 3 600 were taken prisoner. The war
booty consisted of around ninety ships laden with munitions, a
number of artillery pieces, and banners and standards.
Rubens’ sketch for The Triumphal Chariot of Kallo includes a trophy of
war booty consisting of armour and banners.
(8)

7
Commemorative coin marking the victory at Kallo on 21 June 1638,
1638, copper, struck in Brussels, Mayer van den Bergh Museum,
Antwerp.
This copper coin was struck to commemorate the Spanish successes
at the Battle of Kallo. The face shows Philip IV, King of Spain, on
horseback, wearing a hat and holding a sceptre. The depiction on the
obverse is of a ship threatening to capsize in the waves, a reference to
the battle, which took place largely in and around the water and
during which many Dutch ships were captured.
The fact that the King of Spain himself is depicted serves to underline
the political importance of the victory. Philip IV had commissioned
his brother, Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand, to defend the city of
Antwerp, so strategically important.
(9)

8
Theodoor van Thulden (attributed to), Triumphal Arch of Philip IV,
facade, 17th century, oil on panel, Antwerp Royal Museum of Fine
Arts.
This work is a copy of a lost Rubens sketch of the Triumphal Arch of
Philip IV, on the occasion of the State Entry of Cardinal-Infante
Ferdinand of Austria (1635). For the new governor’s state entry into
Antwerp, the city was decorated with temporary triumphal arches
designed by Rubens. The Triumphal Arch of Philip IV, a homage to the
Spanish king, was erected at the end of the Huidevettersstraat. Theodoor
van Thulden (1606-1669) took part in the work preparing the
festive decorations for the State Entry and based his engravings on
these compositions.
The Triumphal Arch, a wooden construction about 21 meters high,
glorified the Habsburg dynasty and illustrated how the Netherlands
came to be ruled by King Philip IV, the brother of the Cardinal-
Infante. The arch had three passageways, separated by columns and
pilasters set on high bases. The large tableau above the central passageway
portrays the marriage of Maximilian of Austria and Maria of
Burgundy, daughter and heir of Charles the Bold. As a result of this
marriage, the Netherlands passed to the Habsburgs. The group of
figures crowning the whole – the supreme Roman god Jupiter with his
wife Juno – emphasises the historical importance of this marriage.
Around the central arch are depicted the six Habsburg rulers over the
Netherlands, and at the top, the ancestors of Philip IV: Emperor
Maximilian 1, Philip the Handsome, Philip II and Emperor Charles
V; below the Emperors stand Philip III and Philip IV. The wedding
scene and the six portraits were all separate paintings placed in the
wooden triumphal arch. The historical piece was painted by Jacob
Jordaens, and the six portraits by Cornelis de Vos. The wedding scene
(10)

and five of the six portraits have survived, but dispersed across different
collections. The coronation of the heavenly pair still forms part of
the Antwerp Royal Museum of Fine Arts collection.
The inspiration for Rubens’ sketches of both the Triumphal Arch of
Philip IV for the State Entry and the Triumphal Chariot of Kallo were
the Roman triumphal processions, of which images from ancient
times remain to this day in the form of reliefs and cameos (semiprecious
stones carved in relief). Influenced by Petrarch’s Triumphs,
the allegory of the triumph took on renewed significance for sculptors
and painters from the Renaissance on.
(11)

9
Jacob Jordaens, As the Old Sing, So the Young Pipe, ca. 1640, private
collection, photo.
‘Zoals de ouden zongen, piepen de jongen’ (As the Old Sing, So the
Young Pipe) is a proverb meaning that children follow the example of
their elders. The proverb, written down by Jacob Cats in 1632, was
depicted by Jordaens in various versions. Here we see a jolly company
sitting round a table and singing a song, whose title is legible on the
page of text.
10
Jacob Jordaens, As the Old Sing, So the Young Pipe, ca. 1640, private
collection, photo detail.
The title of the song, Een Nieu Liedeken van Callo (a new song of
Kallo) is clearly visible in the detail magnification. Two other versions
of this work –in the museums of Ottawa and Valenciennes respectively
– likewise refer to the song about the Battle of Kallo.
(12)

11
Text of The Song of Kallo.
The joy at the victory of Kallo was great and pamphlets (also called ‘fly
sheets’) were used to disseminate the text of the song. An example of
such a pamphlet, one containing two versions of the song – namely,
Een nieuw Liedeken van Calloy ende Verbroeck and Een Nieu kluchtigh
Liedeken van den Geusen Haes op uyt Calloy – as well as a woodcut, is
in the archives of the University of Ghent. It was printed in Antwerp
in 1638.
The text of the Nieu kluchtigh liedeken van den Geusen Haes op uyt
Calloy consists of ten couplets and was sung to an existing refrain:
Hebbense dat ghedaen doense doense.
The first couplet is as follows:
De Geusen, de Geusen
En die boose Fransen, boose Fransen,
Sy quamen met veel Schepen aen
Om in Calloy te dansen.
Hebbense dat ghedaen doense doense
Hebbense dat ghedaen Geus neef comt aen.
(13)

12
Theodoor van Thulden, after Peter Paul Rubens, The Stage of Mercury,
1639-1641, etching and engraving, Print Collection, Plantin-Moretus
Museum, Antwerp.
The Stage of Mercury was displayed on the Sint-Jansbrug during the
Joyous Entry of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand into Antwerp in 1635. It
symbolised the flowering and decline of Antwerp as centre of overseas
commerce. During the long-drawn-out war between the Northern
Provinces and Spain, the blockade of the river Scheldt led to the
decline of Antwerp’s prosperity.
The central panel depicts Mercury, the god of Commerce, quitting
Antwerp. He holds his staff and a moneybag in his upheld hand. It is
clear that he is on the point of leaving, albeit that a winged putto is
attempting to hold him back by clutching at a flap of his cloak. The
scene is set on the Scheldt. While Commerce, personified by Mercury,
is leaving the Antwerp, the river god Scaldis, the personification of the
Scheldt, lies slumbering. The female figure to the right is the city
maiden Antverpia, who personifies Antwerp. On her head, she bears a
city crown in the form of turreted city walls. Her posture expresses
despair at her inability to prevent the god of Commerce departing the
city. The objects around her are also symbolic of lost overseas trade.
She kneels besides an unused anchor and an upturned boat on which
a sleeping seaman is resting.
The scene on the left depicts Abundance and Wealth, and is a reference
to Antwerp’s rich past. We see Antverpia accepting the riches
from the woman beside her, who holds a cornucopia (a horn of plenty)
in her hand. This woman personifies Abundance. In the adjoining
niche is the allegorical figure of Comus, the god of Revelry, so apt in
this scene of prosperity.
(14)

The scene to the right symbolises Poverty and Decay. As a reference to
the miserable situation now prevailing, the personification of Poverty
is depicted as the mother of a poverty-stricken family. In the niche to
the side stands Industria. She is the daughter of Poverty and refers to
work in manufacturing textiles and other goods as a source of income,
to which Antwerp turned after the loss of commerce.
Depicted above the spectacle are the sea gods Neptune and Amphitrite.
They are a reference to the good times when Antwerp had open access
to the sea.
(15)

ALLEGORICAL TRIUMPHAL ChariotS
13
Hans Guldenmund, after a design by Albrecht Dürer, Triumphal
Chariot of Emperor Maximilian I, 1527-1528 and/or 1545, woodcut on
paper, first and second sheet, National Print Collection, Rijksmuseum,
Amsterdam.
This wood engraving is a copy after Albrecht Dürer’s Great Triumphal
Chariot in Honour of Emperor Maximilian I, the complete version of
which consists of eight sheets. The original (1518) was published by
Dürer in 1522, three years after Maximilian’s death.
Dürer designed a triumphal chariot that was to be drawn by six pairs
of horses. The emperor’s chariot was accompanied by twenty-two
personifications symbolising his virtues. The first two sheets show the
section with the imperial chariot. Maximilian is dressed in a coronation
cloak, wears an imperial crown on his head and holds a sceptre
and a palm branch in his hands. The other imperial symbols – the
sword and the orb – rest on a cushion. Victoria (Victory) crowns
Maximilian with a laurel wreath and he is accompanied by the Cardinal
Virtues Justitia (Justice), Temperantia (Temperance), Fortitudo
(Fortitude) and Prudentia (Prudence). The chariot is driven by Ratio
(Reason). The triumphal chariot not only refers to a military victory,
but also extols Maximilian’s qualities as ruler.
(16)

14
Wierix ( attributed to), The Triumphal Chariot of Peace, 1577, engraving,
National Print Collection, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
During the Eighty Years’ War, depiction of such an allegorical triumphal
chariot was a means of symbolising the triumph of peace. The
Pacification of Ghent, a treaty concluded after the Spanish Fury in
1576, aimed at restoring unity among the Seventeen Provinces of
the Netherlands. Underpinning the Pacification of Ghent was the
Perpetual Edict, signed in February 1577 by the new governor of
the Netherlands, Don Juan. Wierix’s engraving is an expression of the
hope for peace that arose after signature of the treaty.
The triumphal chariot as symbol of peace is drawn by three donkeys.
Sitting on the chariot, which carries the coats-of-arms of Philip II,
Don Juan of Austria and the city of Antwerp, are the personifications
of Caritas (Charity), Pax (Peace) and Foedus (Covenant). Behind the
chariot follow the representatives of the States-General and left, kneeling,
the maidens of the Seventeen Provinces. Livor (Malice) and
Proprium commodum (Selfishness) attempt to hinder the chariot’s progress;
in the background, Discordia (Discord) is throttled in a tugging
contest between the powers of Violentia (Violence) and Populus (the
People).
(17)

15
Pieter van der Borcht, The Sea Chariot of Neptune, 1599, engraving,
Print Collection, Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp.
The Sea Chariot of Neptune (Currus Triumphalis Neptuni), depicts a
triumphal chariot with the sea gods Neptune and Amphitrite; it was
built in honour of the Joyous Entry of the Archdukes Albrecht and
Isabella in 1599. In accordance with Greek mythology, Neptune’s
chariot is drawn by two hippocampi, mythological sea-horses with
lower bodies like fish tails; the reins are held by two putti seated astride
the sea-horses. The chariot is accompanied by mermaids who are
combing their hair and looking in a mirror. Tritons, mythological sea
creatures with the head and torso of a man and the tail of a fish, carry
victory banners and blow on a conch horn. Neptune and Amphitrite
are seated on a throne under a baldachin borne by two dolphins.
Dangling from the side of the baldachin are fish, the booty of the sea.
The Sea Chariot was a feature of Antwerp’s annual Ommegang from
1599 on. The theme of Neptune’s chariot was one that the Antwerp
painter Frans Francken the Younger (1581-1642) often returned to.
(18)

16
Pieter van der Borcht, after a design by Maerten de Vos, Triumphal
Chariot, 1595, copperplate, Antwerp Royal Museum of Fine Arts.
Depicted is the triumphal chariot of Antverpia, which appeared in the
Joyous Entry of Archduke Ernest into Antwerp in 1594. It was this
chariot (currus triumphalis) that the new governor’s procession
encountered first on its formal entry into the city. Seated on top is the
figure of Antverpia, in her hand a laurel wreath that she offers to the
governor. The welcoming of a new governor had been the task of
Antverpia since the entry of Prince Philip in 1549. Here, she is accompanied
by a number of allegorical figures. To her right are Religio
(Religion), with book and crucifix, Obedientia (Obedience), with a
silver yoke, and Reverentia (Deference), with a veil. On the other side
are Fidelitas (Loyalty), with a shield bearing the depiction of a dog,
Benevolentia (Benevolence), with a heart held by two hands and
within a laurel wreath, and Beneficii recordatio (Reminder of Benefaction).
To the front of the chariot are two laurel-wreathed figures in
Roman dress, who symbolise the city’s guardian deities (Penates
Publici). Above their wreathed profiles is Antwerp’s emblem, the
turreted walls with two hands. The personifications on the triumphal
chariot are an expression of the city’s attitude towards the new governor.
Along the front of the chariot is a text in which Antverpia declares
her confidence in the times ahead under Ernest’s governorship.
(19)

17
Elias van den Bossche, Allegory on the Truce and the Joining of the
Parties, 1609, engraving, Print Collection, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
This print of a triumphal chariot is an allegory of Peace and was made
on the occasion of the peace negotiations that in 1609 led to the
Twelve Years’ Truce (1609-1621). Accompanying the triumphal chariot
of Pax (Peace) are Justitia (Justice), Misericordia (Clemency) and
Veritas (Truth); in the foreground, Mars the god of War is led away
shackled.
To the left are the Archdukes Albrecht and Isabella, and Father Jan
Neyen, who represented them at the peace talks with the Republic of
the Seven United Netherlands. The figures are in the company of the
representatives of the States-General. To the right, jointly leading the
procession of the maidens of all the Seventeen Provinces, are Maurits
of Nassau, Captain-general of the republic’s army, and Ambrogio
Spinola, the Spanish commander in the Southern Netherlands. In the
background, swords are being reforged into plough-shares. The three
medallions above bear respectively the portraits of Spinola, Albrecht
and the Count of Bucquoy; the two below bear respectively those of
Maurits and Frederik Hendrik. The print bears witness to the optimism
at the beginning of the Twelve Years’ Truce at peace being
achieved between the parties in the Eighty Years’ War.
(20)

18
Rubens Chariot, print, 1840, Print Collection, Plantin-Moretus
Museum, Antwerp.
In 1840, Antwerp celebrated the two-hundredth anniversary of
the death of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). The city was decorated
with triumphal arches, columns and riotous decoration. The festivities
lasted ten days and a clay figure of Rubens was set up, in anticipation
of a bronze one, which was not yet ready. During the
festivities, an Ommegang was held, featuring the chariots of The
Giant, The Giantess, The Whale, The Ship and The Little Boats,
followed by the Rubens Car. In the Kunst- en Letterblad periodical
of 1840, there is the following description: “Daerop volgde de
kunstenaers- of Rubenswagen- waervan de grootsch-heid alle bewondering
afvergt. Hij heeft de gedaante van een schip met eenen grooten
Tryton op den steven.” (“After that came the Artists’ or Rubens Car,
whose grandeur caught everyone’s admiration. It has the appearance
of a ship with a great triton on the stern”). The chariot carried
the text “Hulde aen Rubens door de kunstenaers” (“Homage to
Rubens by the artists”).
The Rubens Chariot of 1840 is a replica after Rubens’ sketch for
The Triumphal Chariot of Kallo, 1638, albeit with a few appropriate
changes: for example, the prisoners at the foot of the trophy were
replaced with four artists, and a plain flagpole replaced the metreshigh
original trophy.
For the Rubens festivities of 1877, plans were drawn up for a
Rubens Chariot designed by the painter Hendrik Verbuecken. Its
cost was estimated at eight to nine hundred thousand francs. The
nineteenth-century triumphal chariot – not in an optimal state – is
preserved in one of the City of Antwerp’s storerooms. On the occasion
of the Rubens Year in 1977, the chariot underwent major
(21)

estoration, which included replacing decayed sections and employing
polyester for certain figures. During the Rubens Exhibition of
1977, the chariot was displayed as an eye-catcher in front of the
Antwerp Royal Museum of Fine Arts.
(22)

19
Peter Paul Rubens, The Triumphal Chariot of Kallo, 1638, oil on panel,
Antwerp Royal Museum of Fine Arts.
In 1638, Rubens was commissioned by the Antwerp magistracy to
design a triumphal chariot to celebrate the victory at Kallo. His sketch
was based on his knowledge of Classical Antiquity and the Renaissance,
and included elements of a Roman triumphal procession, such
as the trophy and the prisoners of war. In the allegorical chariot were
personifications for whom there was renewed interest in the Renaissance.
In Rubens’ sketch, we also perceive the influence of the
Antwerp pictorial tradition. The chariot is decorated with sea creatures
that refer to Antwerp as a port; true to tradition, an important
place is occupied by the city maiden Antverpia.
Rubens set the allegory on the victory at Kallo on a triumphal chariot
in the shape of a ship, the mast being replaced by an enormous trophy;
the shape of a ship refers to Felicitas or happiness. The military trophy
consists of armour, standards, banners and armorial bearings, taken
as spoils from the enemy. Affixed above them are a laurel wreath, flags,
Habsburg-family coats-of-arms, a cardinal’s hat, a golden crown and,
at the top, a laurel tree. The text on two scrolls explains the origin of
the war booty; it reads: ‘DE GALLIS CAPTA FUGATIS’ (captured
from the fleeing French) and ‘CAESIS DETRACTA BATAVIS’ (captured
from the defeated Hollanders). To the side of the trophy stand
two Victory figures, who symbolise the triumph. The renown of the
victory is underlined by two Fama (personifications of Fame) with
trumpets. To the right of the trophy is a text reading ‘Inde vaenen
vande Trompetten van Fama’, ‘VICTOR IO’ and ‘IO TRIUMPHE’
(‘In the banners of the trumpets of Fama’, ‘Long live the victor’ and
‘Long live the triumph’). It was with these acclamations that, in
(23)

Antiquity, Roman conquerors were hailed during their triumphal
processions.
Guiding the chariot is Providentia Augusta, who is identified by the
inscription next to her head. Providentia stands for Providence or
Foresight and Augusta refers to the Roman emperor Augustus. She
symbolizes the foresight of the Spanish king and wears a laurel wreath
as a symbol of victory; furthermore, she is depicted with two faces,
one looking forward to the future and the other looking back to the
past. She is modelled on Prudentia (Prudence or Wisdom), one of the
Cardinal Virtues. On the ground beside her is a flaming grenade.
Behind her, on a raised platform, kneel Antverpia and Audomarum,
the city maidens of Antwerp and St. Omer; their names appear in the
inscriptions above their heads. Both wear a crown in the form of
turreted city walls. Antverpia’s crown is decorated with a wreath of
roses and she is dressed in the city colours of Antwerp, red and white.
Audomarum, wearing a yellow cloak, rests her hand on a heraldic
shield. The stance and gestures of the city maidens appear to express
their joy at the victory gained.
The personifications of Virtus (Virtue, as well as Valour and Resolve)
and Fortuna (Fortune, as well as Coincidence or Luck) stand at the
stern of the ship. They, too, are connected to the triumph: Virtus, symbolising
military power and wearing a helmet, is holding a sword and
a thunderbolt; Fortuna is the symbol of fortune, of fickle luck that is
sometimes with one and sometimes against, just as the wind that
puffs up her garment. With her hand resting on a ship’s rudder, she
likewise represents safe passage. At the foot of the trophy are three
seated prisoners of war, who represent the Hollanders and French
taken prisoner after the victories at Kallo and St. Omer.
The triumphal chariot is decorated with festoons and swirling decorations
that end in lobe-like motifs. Sea creatures, such as the dolphin
with a putto astride its back and the triton blowing his conch shell,
ride the waves and appear to be guiding the ship; the reference is to the
(24)

victory on and around the waters of the Scheldt. The shaft of the
chariot disappears into the gaping maw of a fire-spewing sea-dragon.
Placed above the ship’s stern is the city coat-of-arms of Antwerp, with
the double eagle over the city walls and the outspread hands.
The city magistracy’s commissioning of the design for a triumphal
chariot can be seen a form of city propaganda, the design being a
token of loyalty to the Spanish governor, whose order to repel an
attack on Antwerp had had such a successful outcome.
(25)

20
Theodoor van Thulden, after Peter Paul Rubens, Laurea Calloana,
1642, copperplate, in: Gevartius, Pompa Introitus Ferdinandi, Antwerpen
1642, Print Collection, Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp.
In 1641, the city magistracy of Antwerp decided to include a print
after Rubens’ sketch for The Triumphal Chariot of Kallo as an appendix
in the richly illustrated memorial book of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand’s
Joyous Entry in 1635: Gevartius, Pompa Introitus Ferdinandi,
Antwerp 1642. The print, Laurea Calloana, was engraved by Theodoor
van Thulden who also made the engravings to illustrate the rest
of the book. Accompanying the print in the appendix is a text describing
the significance of Rubens’ design. The engraving appears to be an
exact copy of Rubens’ oil sketch and it is therefore highly probable
that the actual sketch served as model for Van Thulden. Comparing
the engraving and the sketch, we see that Van Thulden has added a
pair of horses, has set the grenade on the pedestal and has introduced
a view of the Kallo battlefield. Pompa Introitus Ferdinandi was printed
in Antwerp in 1642.
(26)

THE ANTWERP OMMEGANG
The Ommegang had been an important event in the ecclesiastical year
from as early as the Middle Ages. The oldest description of the annual
procession is found in a document dating from 1324 and held in the
Antwerp City Archives; it shows that Ommegangen were already
being held in Antwerp at the beginning of the fourteenth century. In
the earliest processions, saints’ relics were carried around the church
and through the streets. Initially, religious themes took the central
place in the Ommegang, but gradually evolved into profane themes.
One example of this is The Whale: originally accompanied by Jonah,
it came later to be accompanied by Neptune, god of the sea. Another
example concerns the Biblical theme of the giant Goliath, which, during
the sixteenth century, became transformed into the city giant
Druon Antigoon.
(27)

21
Alexander van Bredael, Antwerp Ommegang, 1697, oil on canvas,
Musée de l’Hospice Comtesse, Lille.
Alexander van Bredael (1663-1720) specialised in the depiction of
street and market scenes, as well as of religious festivities such as the
Antwerp Ommegang on the fifteenth of August, the Feast of The
Assumption. Here, he shows us part of the festive Ommegang on the
Grote Markt, against the background of Antwerp’s Town Hall, the
arrival on the Grote Markt appearing to have been the high point of
the procession. Also in the procession are richly decorated floats with
colourfully dressed persons. To the right is probably the City Chariot
with the city maidens; to the front is The Camel, which was originally
a part of the Christmas crib tableau, but later came to be a separate
feature of the festivities. Hell – depicted as a dark monster-head spewing
fire and smoke – is seen to the left, by the wall of the Town Hall,
and in the centre The Seven Sorrows of Mary.
This and the work by van Bredael mentioned below are both clear
evidence that the Ommegang in Antwerp was a joyous, high-spirited
festive occasion in which people from all walks of life participated.
Here are musicians, clowns and banner-bearers on horseback; a tent is
set up on the square and food is being sold. The spectacle is observed
both from the square and from the Town Hall and guild halls.
(28)

22
Alexander van Bredael, Traditional Festivity in Antwerp, 1697, oil on
canvas, Musée de l’Hospice Comtesse, Lille.
This section of the Ommegang shows Antwerp’s Cathedral of Our
Lady in the background. Here, too, young and old are in festive
mood. In the centre is The Whale, spouting water and with Neptune
sitting on it, recognisable by the trident he is brandishing. The stream
of water from The Whale is causing amused consternation among the
group of revellers in the left foreground. As tradition dictates, the
great creature is followed by The Small Dolphins. A respectable company
to the right appear to be interested in the wares of hawker. To the
left is the triumphal chariot of Apollo and the Muses; behind The
Whale is The Giant. Further to the right is one of The Little Boats
with, nearby, The Elephant carrying Fortuna on its back. Wholly to
the right is The Great Ship, the vessel of the merchants’ guild, with
sails full and flags fluttering, manned by sailors and set on a chariot on
which the waves of the sea have been depicted.
(29)

23
Ordre van den Ommeganck, manuscript dating probably from the late
seventeenth century and setting out the scenography for the presentation
of the Ommegang on the Grote Markt, Antwerp City Archives.
A seventeenth-century manuscript entitled Ordre van den Ommeganck
(Order of the Ommegang) in the Antwerp City Archives gives a
detailed description of the organisation and execution of the festive
Ommegang on the Grote Markt. The duration of the event is given
(“ten hours precisely”), as is the distance between the Ommegang
chariots (“about fifty paces”). Stated, too, is the place of the chariots in
the procession and the sequence of the route through the streets and
over the market square. The musicians with cymbals and trumpets are
to lead the way, followed by The Great Ship, The Little Boats, The
Whale, The Small Dolphins and the Sea Chariot. Horn players are to
accompany The Maiden’s Chariot, St. Michael’s Chariot and The
Mount Parnassus, and to bring up the rear of the festive parade are
The Giant, The Lion, The Small Giants and The Elephant. The
Ommegang was well organised. A section of the procession was to wait
in the Hooghstraat while the cavalcade on the Grote Markt was
directed by aen-lijders (stewards), who gave instructions to the musicians
and chariots: certain chariots were to circle round, others to
remain stationary or to manoeuvre in a complex pattern over the
market square (“laverende door malkanderen” – ‘navigating a passage
between the others’). The Mount Parnassus was equipped with a
stream of water, and The Whale spouting its water must have been a
sensational sight, too. The margin of the document contains instructions
about the organisation for the water supply: “Nota tobben te
stellen op de plette vant stadhuijs” (‘Don’t forget to put tubs on the
Town Hall steps’).
(30)

Scale models of Ommegang figures
As part of the exhibition Triumph on Wheels, various scale models
(bozzetti) of Antwerp Ommegang figures are to be seen in the other
rooms of the Rockox House Museum. A few of them are signed
‘Ant. Hoefnaegels 1916’. The models were put on show in 1916 and
1936 at the folklore exhibitions Ons Volksleven. The 1936 exhibition
was organised by the Koninklijk Kunstverbond (Royal Art Association)
in the Arenbergstraat, Antwerp.
Audio-visual presentation Triumph on Wheels
The Antwerp Ommegang is a procession with a centuries-old tradition.
The audio-visual presentation at the exhibition shows Ommegang
figures throughout the ages; it can be seen in the museum’s
Projection Room. It also shows detailed images of Rubens’ oil sketch
The Triumphal Chariot of Kallo.
Visitors to the exhibition are invited to make their circuit via the
Ommegang figures and then take in the audio-visual presentation.
(31)

Practical details
From 11 February to 13 May 2012
Rockox House Museum, Keizerstraat 12, 2000 Antwerp
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed Mondays except Easter Monday, 9 April 2011
The museum is accessible by wheel chair.
Prices
Individual visitors
2.50 euros
Groups of 15 persons or more (per person): 1.25 euros
OKV members museum card
1.25 euros
19-26 years of age 1.25 euros
Over 60 and Under 19
free of charge
Friends of the KMSKA and employees free of charge
KBC customers and KBC employees free of charge
School and college groups
free of charge
VMV and ICOM members
free of charge
Disabled persons
free of charge
Job-seekers
free of charge
Entrance to the museum is free for all on the last Wednesday of every
month.
Guided tours for groups
Group visits accompanied by an authorised guide are possible.
Reservations should be made with the City of Antwerp Tourism
Department,
Tour Guides Service,
Grote Markt 15,
2000 Antwerp,
tel. 03 232 01 03 or 03 338 95 30.

Colophon
Exhibition
Organisation: The Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp in
co-operation with the Rockox House Museum
Curators: Ank Adriaans and Valérie Herremans
Co-ordination: Christine Van Mulders and Hildegard Van de Velde
Audiovisual presentation
Text: Ank Adriaans
Photos: Adri Verburg and Marie Geraerts
Voice: Dierdre Timp
Recording voice: Peeters Productions NV
Production: Adri Verburg
Visitors’ Guide
Text: Ank Adriaans
Translation: KBC Language Services
Design: Luc Geyskens
Print coordination: Eddy Moyaers
Illustration cover:
Peter Paul Rubens, The Triumphal Chariot of Kallo
KMSKA © Lukas – Art in Flanders