The Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Low Countries, which began in 1568, was the first major European conflict fought in significant measure with paper propaganda. Pamphlets and broadsides were run off the presses by the thousands, with graphic images created to stir emotions and win support of the Netherlandish populace in the struggle to free themselves from Spanish rule. So effective were the products of the first years of the struggle that themes and symbols devised for the earliest prints became emblems of the war at each critical stage. The works of art in this exhibition, beautiful and intriguing in their own right, document not only political history but also religious, economic, and social developments, affording lively insights into 16th-century Netherlandish life.

Organizer and Support

Images of Discord: A Graphic Interpretation of the Opening Decades of the Eighty Years' War was organized by Bryn Mawr College and made possible through the generosity of many individual donors.

Curators

James R. Tanis
John W. Ittmann

Itinerary

Stichting Atlas Van Stolk, Rotterdam
Katholieke Universiteitsbibliotheek, Leuven
Philadelphia Museum of Art
University of Indiana Museum, Bloomington