Allegory of the revival of Antwerp following the victory of Alexander Farnese

The Allegory of the Surrender of Antwerp in 1585 is a symbolic representation of the most decisive and influential event in Antwerp during the Revolt: the definitive takeover of the city by the Spanish-Habsburg crown. It marked the end of the revolt against the ruling power. Several personifications in the painting represent the hope of Antwerp for a Spanish predominance renouncing the feared repression and intolerance. A rosy future is promised for all citizens who submit to the new authority. The canvas was kept in the town hall until it was moved to the Venusstraat in the 1950s, together with the city archive. In 2009 it was transferred to the Vleeshuis Museum.

Hans Vredeman de Vries, a leading and versatile Renaissance artist specializing in perspectival studies, painted this canvas just before he left Antwerp for the North. The Allegory was perhaps part of the ephemeral architecture for the Joyous Entry of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma in Antwerp (1585).