Frontispiece to Eikon Basilike, The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings (Hollar, 1649)
A two-panel etching: on the left a palm hung with weights and a rock unmoved in a storm; on the right Charles I in ermine, kneeling, gripping a crown of thorns while a starred crown of glory shines from the sky, one foot on the globe and his earthly crown at his feet. Latin banners such as 'Crescit sub pondere virtus' supply the virtue words, and the martyr iconography lends Christ's prestige to the king.
- Date
- 1649
- Period
- Pre-1914
- Made by
- English Royalist circle publishing Eikon Basilike (Hague edition, 1649); frontispiece etched by Wenceslaus Hollar
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- Dutch Republic
- Medium
- Issuer type
- Movement
- Regime
- Stadtholderate of William II
- Leader
- William II of Orange
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Commemorate
- Themes
- Religion, Elections and party politics
- Event
- English Civil War
- Techniques
- TransferGlittering generalities
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Rijksmuseum, retrieved September 29, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (etched 1649; Rijksmuseum data marks CC0 1.0)
Wenceslaus Hollar, frontispiece to Eikon Basilike, 1649; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, RP-P-1920-2654
Text on the object
[left panel:] CLARIOR E TENEBRIS IMMOTA TRIVMPHANS CRESCIT SVB PONDERE VIRTVS [right panel:] Coeli Specto Beatam et Æternam [on the crown: GLORIA] Asperam et levem [on the crown of thorns:] graua [on the tablets:] IN VERBO TVO SPES MEA [on the open book:] Christi Tracto [uncertain] Splendidam et grauem [on the fallen crown:] Vanitas [small, partly hidden] Mundi calco W. Hollar Bohem. fecit. 1649.
[left panel:] Brighter out of darkness Triumphing unmoved Virtue grows under weight [right panel:] I look to heaven The blessed and eternal [crown] [on the crown: GLORY] The rough and light [crown] [on the crown of thorns:] heavy [approximate] [on the tablets:] IN YOUR WORD IS MY HOPE [on the open book:] Of Christ I handle / I am drawn [uncertain reading] The splendid and heavy [crown] [on the fallen crown:] Vanity I tread on the world W. Hollar of Bohemia made it. 1649.
Read from a 3000 px scan. Several banner words are small and cut by the line work; 'Clarior e tenebris' reads along the light beam, 'graua' on the band of the crown of thorns is only partly clear, the book label 'Christi Tracto' is uncertain, and 'Vanitas' on the earthly crown is barely legible.
