20 March, 2008

Again something historical.....


.......but now slightly different.
This is one from a series of four illustrations which I did for - and to be used in - an archeological exhibition in the town-museum of the city of Vlaardingen (near Rotterdam). The pictures tell the story of one of the earliest counts of Holland in his struggle for independance from the German emperor in the battle of Vlaardingen in AD 1018. In this battle the poorly armed Frisians (as they were called) defeated the mighty German army, which could hardly manoeuvre on the - at that time - inaccessible, swampy terrain of the dutch delta, full of water-courses, dikes, swamps, puddles and ditches. As a result almost all soldiers were killed by the dutch or drowned, while withdrawing in panic. the Duke of Lorraine was captured and served as a hostage in the negotiations with the Emperor. Ultimately this event led to the rise of the powerfull county of Holland.
Because image-sources from that time are very rare, my client and I agreed to use a very rich informative and famous contemporary source from 1066: the Bayeux Tapestry; which I did with much pleasure, for it's fabulous!

4 comments:

Chris.P said...

Fantastic work! Thanks for posting it.

John Rabou said...

Thank you, Chris. You're welcome!

And I would love to see much more pictures, and also from GCI-ers who didn't post yet, wouldn't you; after all it's a nice initiative, although I admit it's a bit scary to contribute.

Leighton Noyes said...

John, you must be the most patient illustrator on Earth!

John Rabou said...

Ha ha,it does look painstaking, doesn't it?
In Holland we would call this "monnikenwerk"!
I think you would translate this as a monkish work....
I'd say I'm very much of this world, though ;-)