Romeyn de Hooghe, Siege of Naarden, 1673 by Atelier Liesjes

Romeyn de Hooghe, Belegeringe der Stadt Naerden

Siege of the town of Naerden Being the first victory that his Royal Highness the Prince of Orange has conquered

In April 1672, England and France declared war on the Dutch Republic. After French troops had crossed the Rhine at Lobith on 12 June 1672, the Dutch defence lines collapsed. Only by flooding part of Holland and Brabant, the so-called Waterlinie, did Holland and Zeeland manage to hold out. After the fall of the State and the rise to power of Stadtholder William III, the recapture of the Naarden fortress on 12 September 1673 was the start of a major counter-offensive. The successful siege and capture of the fortress is depicted here by Romeyn de Hooghe (1645-1708). De Hooghe depicted various scenes and protagonists on the plate, which are explained by explanatory captions. In the centre of the plate we see William III. He is surrounded by his staff. The mayor of Naarden is kneeling before the prince. In the foreground right the French troops are retreating; top centre a general map of Naarden with, in the town centre, the town arms. Top right a poem on the Siege of Naerden.

Romeyn de Ho(o)g(h)e (Amsterdam, Holland, Netherlands, September 10, 1645 - Haarlem, June 15, 1708) was a Northern Dutch etcher, drawer of 3,500 prints, caricaturist (under the pseudonym Marlois), painter, iconographer, goldsmith, enameller, book illustrator, publisher of maps, inventor of a way to print cotton, lawyer, and writer of historic