Pauwels, Ferdinand (1830-1904; Belgian)
Exiles of the Duke of Alva
Wood engraving (?), 20.2 x 35.3 cm
Presented by Belgian Government 1868
National Gallery of Victoria (p.179.16-1)
One of several works recorded as donated by the Belgian government in 1868, this work records the impact of the repressive governorship of the Northern Netherlands by Duke Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba [Alva], 1567-73. He presided over an estimated 5000 executions, and many, including William of Orange, fled the country; however, his harsh measures are said to have simply hardened the impulse towards Dutch independence.
The print, which has darkened considerably with age, is identified at lower right as printed in Leipzig by J.J.Weber.
Refs.
AR 1870-71, p.34, under Engravings (framed); not listed in NGV 1894 or 1905
For this work, see NGV catalogue (with details and reproduction as shown above)
For Pauwels, see Bénézit 10, pp.1027-28; AKL 94 (2017), pp.453-54; and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Pauwels (with further details and references). For the historical background, see e.g. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01371a.htm (Catholic encyclopedia entry)