Annibal in bello captos confligere cogit - J. Stradanus 1596

📜 Description
Antique print depicting a combat scene with an elephant and armed gladiators, engraved in Antwerp in 1596 after an invention by Johannes Stradanus (Jan van der Straet) and published by Philippe Galle, a significant example of an original engraving from the hunting and spectacle series *Venationes Ferarum*. The composition is structured within an architectural space with a loggia—likely an arena—with spectators above, showing the sole survivor of the conflict engaged in combat with sword and shield against an elephant, while several bodies lie on the ground; the arrangement is clearly narrative and theatrical, with strong perspectival depth and a distribution of planes between the arena and the stands. The Latin inscription engraved along the lower margin, “Annibal in bello captos confligere cogit inter se: tantum superest ex omnibus unus… hic bardo objicitur; superatur bellua; victor dimitti pactus, dum poscit abire, necatur,” translated as “Hannibal compels captives to fight among themselves: of all, only one remains… he is then thrown to the beast; the beast is overcome; the victor, who had been promised freedom if he asked to depart, is instead killed,” constitutes a fundamental interpretative key and directly links the image to an episode of wartime cruelty attributed to Hannibal, emphasizing the moral theme of violence and deception. The engraved line, fine and regular, built through a dense network of parallel and cross-hatched strokes, precisely defines anatomy, armor, and the volume of the elephant, generating an effective chiaroscuro and imparting a strong dramatic tension characteristic of late sixteenth-century Flemish printmaking.

📚 Art Historical Note
Johannes Stradanus (Jan van der Straet, 1523–1605), a Flemish artist active primarily in Italy, was the author of numerous graphic cycles of narrative and allegorical character, including the celebrated series *Venationes Ferarum, Avium, Piscium*, engraved by various masters and published in Antwerp by Philippe Galle between 1578 and the end of the sixteenth century. These original engravings, conceived as a visual repertory of hunting practices and animal spectacles, are distinguished by their theatrical structure and their capacity to translate episodes of strong symbolic and moral impact into images, as in the case of the scene attributed to Hannibal; the work fully belongs to the tradition of Northern antique printmaking.

🧾 Technical Sheet
Type: original engraving
Author / Maker: Johannes Stradanus (Jan van der Straet); publisher Philippe Galle
Place: Antwerp
Period: 1596
Material: paper
Technique: etching
Subject / Title: “Annibal in bello captos confligere cogit…”
Dimensions: Sheet 23.5 × 32 cm; plate 19.5 × 26 cm
Marks / signatures / inscriptions: Latin inscription engraved along the lower margin referring to the episode of Hannibal

🔍 Condition Report
Example with declared professional restorations; the sheet is overall in very good condition, with signs of age consistent with the period, good legibility of the impression, and well-preserved engraved line without significant structural compromise.