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113. This refers 10 the words of Hebrew 1:3, as the
Latin inscription near the heart informs us, where is
described how Christ takes his place at the right-hand
side of God, after having redeemed mankind of its sins.
114. New Hollstem, Maarten van Heemskerck
vol. 2, p. 125, no. 435-Veldman 1990, pp. 88-89, no. 7.2.
An overview of die iconographic tradition of the Forts
pieiatis is given in Wadell 1969, specifically pp. 62-65.
115. Cp.Veldm.an 1987, pp. 197-199 and Veldrnan
1990, p. 89, where the engraving is discussed in relation
to the religious opinions of Heemskerck and Coornhert
respectively.At a much later date (probably around 1590),
Philips Galle himself published a slightly changed version
of Coornhert's engraving, including Fides cleaning the
hearts. This print was incised by Adriaen Collaert after a
design by Ambrosius Francken the Elder; cp.Wadell 1969,
p. 121, no. 105.This engraving - most probably published
in Antwerp after the Counter-Reformation set foot in
1585 - seems to support Veldrnan s thesis that the iconog­
raphy of the Coornhert- Heemskerck engraving was not
specifically Protestant of nature.
116. The very literal translations of abstract scrip­
tural passages into complex and highly original iconog­
raphy are also very similar to Coornhert's own engrav­
ings of this period, as is the use of the allegory as didactic
method par excellence; cp.Veldrnan 1990, pp 31-33.
117. For a survey of the life and works of
Coornhert, see Bonger 1978. His opinions in matters of
ethics and religions are elucidated in Bonger 1987 and
the essays by various authors in Bonger 1989a. Of special
concern is Berkvens-Stevelinck s study on Coornhert as
a theologian: Berkvens-Stevelinck 1989.
118. Coornhert returned to Holland from exile in
November 1576, he then settled in Haarlem in March of
1577. On Coornhert's controversial activioes in this peri­
od - leading to a ban on writing and publishing on reli­
gious matters by the authorities of the Staten van Holland
in 1579 - compare Bonger 1978, pp. 83-118. Galle pub­
lished the following text by Coornhert before his return
to exile: De return usus et abusu, a moralizing book of
emblems issued by Galle and Plantin jointly in 1575.They
issued the book - illustrated with engravings by
Hieronyrnus Wierix after designs by Gerard Groenning -
under the name of the Frisian humanist Bernard Fur me -
Notes Chapter 4
198
rus, most probably to avoid potential conflicts with die
authorities on account of publishing works of an author
in exile. On the contents of the book and a reconstruc­
tion of events, see the recent dissertation Puhlmann 1992.
The moral issues discussed in De rerum usu et abusu are
entirely in keeping with Coornhert's opinions, as dis­
cussed above.
119. The problematic issue of how and when
Coornhert's late prints were published, are discussed in
Veldrnan 1990, pp. 27-29. It is interestmg to note that most
of these engravings were only published posthumously in
1597 by Hendrick Spiegel, a long-standing friend of
Coornhert. Even then these works only appeared with
the address of Spiegel's eleven (!) year old son Marten; a
simple trick to avoid liability for controversial publica­
tions on the part of Spiegel senior?
120. The complete engraved text in the central car­
touche of the title page reads: "Virtutum/ viuorumq[ue]/
Quibus capitaliurn nomejn]/ inditum est, septenario/
numero prorxitorum, en-/ comia una com praemijs/
poenisq[ue] quae eorurn cul-/ tores manent, exemplis/
testimonijsq[ue] sacra-/ rum litterarum/ adumbrata."
("Eulogies on what are known as the principal virtues and
the mortal sins, depicted according to their usual number
of seven, together with the rewards and punishments that
await their respective admirers, adorned with examples
and testimonies from the Holy Scripture.)" For a descrip­
tion of the full series, see Hollstein, vol. 8, p. 20, nos. 85-
100;TIB. 3, vol. 1, pp. 77-92, nos. 77-92 and vol. 2, pp. 82-
85; Bartsch 1803-21, vol. 3, pp. 31-33, nos. 77-92;
Hirschrnann 1921, pp. 38-41, nos. 85-100 and Strauss
1977, vol. 1, pp. 164-179, nos. 74-89. The series has the
address of Philips Galle on the title page, but lacks date
and place of publication. The author of the verses is
unknown.The following paragraph is an abbreviated and
translated version of an earlier article (Sellink 1991-92),
where the iconography of the series is discussed in detail.
121. On the iconography of sins, virtues and good
works in relation to the Last Judgement, cp. Knipping
1939-40, vol. 1, p. 37 and vol. 2, pp. 114-122, 308-311;
Harbison 1976, pp. 92-139,
122. TIB. 56, pp. 257-264, nos. 69:1-8. The Seven
acts of mercy is closely related in style, technique, compo­
sition and subject matter to two other series produced by
Galle in the same period: The seven spiritual acts of mercy, a