Jacob

Jacob — marelibri

De Seven Bisschoppen van Engeland Mezzotint Amsterdam 1689

1689Best.-Nr. 724571689. 18-3/4" x 14-1/2" Mezzotint broadside. 18-3/4" x 14-1/2" Mezzotint broadside. Print Commemorating an Event that Led to the Glorious Revolution Gole Jacob 1660-1724 Engraver. De Seven Bisschoppen van Engeland. Amsterdam: Published by P. Savoret and Jacob Gole 1689. 18-3/4" x 14-1/2" 47.5 x 37 cm mezzotint broadside image size 14-3/4" x 11" 37.5 x 28 cm. Faint horizontal crease through center light soiling to lower-right corner. Well-preserved wide margins. $750. This rare striking broadside commemorates a pivotal catalyst of the Glorious Revolution: the resistance imprisonment and trial of the Seven Bishops of the Church of England. In 1688 the Catholic King James II issued the Declaration of Indulgence which granted religious freedom in England by suspending penal laws against Catholics and non-conforming Protestants. Crucially the decree stripped away the requirement of affirming an oath to the Church of England to hold government or teaching positions. Viewing this as a direct assault on the established Church seven prominent bishops petitioned against the reforms and refused to read the Declaration from their pulpits. James II promptly had them imprisoned in the Tower of London and tried for seditious libel. Overnight the bishops became celebrated defenders of the Protestant faith; their subsequent acquittal provoked widespread public rejoicing and severely undermined the King's authority paving the way for the ascension of William of Orange later that year. The central engraving features portrait ovals of the seven defiant bishops. Above them are symbolic counterweights of power and justice: a bishop's mitre a circular medal depicting the Tower of London where they were held and a scale of justice. The print is captioned below the image in both Dutch and French reflecting its contemporary distribution across Continental Protestant networks. Jacob Gole was an acclaimed early master of the mezzotint technique and a prominent publisher of playing cards and prints. A French-born Huguenot Calvinist Gole fled to Holland around 1684 to escape religious persecution just prior to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Settling in Amsterdam he achieved high regard for his finely detailed portraits and genre scenes. Today Gole's work is well-represented in major international institutions including the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. O'Donoghu. unknown