The Latin caption at the bottom margin of this engraving can be translated as, “I, the commander, lead the way and ensure that Mars’s recruits remain undaunted because I teach them to defy all dangers by my good example” (Prævius infractos reddo Dux Martis alumnos, Spernere dum doceo cuncta pericla, meo). We might read this as a rallying cry from the subject of this work, the boldly striding captain of the Dutch infantry whose frame dominates the print. The reference to Mars, the Roman god of war, points to the politically charged time in which the engraving was produced: during this era of the Eighty Years’ War, in which the Dutch United Provinces fought for independence from Spain, the North saw several military successes on its journey to autonomy. The serpentine line of marching soldiers that fills the landscape beyond the rocky cliff on which the captain stands denotes a growing Dutch military power.
Goltzius produced a total of twelve drawings depicting Dutch military officers. He engraved two—the present work, and a second, similar composition showing a standard bearer amid the Dutch landscape—while his pupil, Jacques de Gheyn II (1565−1629), engraved the other ten. These prints stand as important examples of Dutch propaganda during a time of war and political strife: the confident captain exudes both physical and moral strength as described in the inscription, and the soldiers under his command suggest the unity and discipline of the United Provinces’s forces.
Claire Spadafora Baes
2025
