Plate 37: the arch at st michael's: the front face: arch with a single large portal framed by pairs of columns of composite order; at centre, filling the tympanum is a large canvas representing the choice of hercules at the moment he decides to follow the path of virtue; at the centre of the picture the cardinal-infante ferdinand appears in the guise of hercules prodicius, wearing a lion's skin and holding his club in the company of minerva at right, and venus, cupid and bacchus at left, with a cannon and other military implements in the foreground; on the hilltop in the background stand the temples of virtue and honour, guarded by hybrid beasts; surmounted by ornate acroterion with the coat-of-arms of ferdinand, a prince's crown, and cardinal's hat, topped by laurel and crossed palms encircled by a wreath; at either banners fly, with two flaming cannonballs below; winged victories at right and left bear military standards with the monograms for philip and ferdinand; flanking the pediment are two sphinxes; after peter paul rubens; illustration for gaspar gevaerts' "pompa introitus" (antwerp, 1641)
etching. Date: 1635-1641 (c.). Dimensions: Height: 483 mm (plate-mark); Height: 649 mm (sheet); Width: 322 mm; Width: 543 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Gaspar Gevaerts. Collection: British Museum. Arcus Ad. D. Michaelis (BM 1884,0112.68)
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