An album of Dutch political prints and pamphlets dealing with Prince Maurits of Orange and Johan van Oldenbarnevelt

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Gilles van Ledenberg was a Dutch politician who aligned himself with statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt. In 1618, following a dispute with Prince Maurits of Orange about the Dutch Reformed Church and the conflict with Spain, Ledenberg and Oldenbarnevelt were arrested and tried for treason. Fearful his conviction would bankrupt his family, Ledenberg committed suicide in prison. His trial proceeded, however, and he was posthumously executed, his body suspended from the gallows in a coffin (as seen here). A 17th-century print collector bound this image in a volume with other prints and pamphlets about the events in which Ledenberg and Oldenbarnevelt played a role.

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