‘Aurea Aetas Anverpiensis’: Landscape, Agriculture, and Sovereignty in Antwerp’s Joyous Entries

The signing of the April 1609 peace treaty between the Dutch Republic and the Southern Provinces took place in the Antwerp City Hall underneath a painting by Abraham Janssens (1575-1632). Presented in this work are the reclining river god Scaldis-the Scheldt-and the female personification of Antwerp holding a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables. In 1614, Janssens added another painting to the Great Assembly Hall which showcases the personifications of Abundance, Peace, and Charity binding the arrows of war. There again, a cornucopia dominates the scenery, now held by Abundantia, making it clear that not only a monetary wealth but also a richness in agricultural produce was a sign of prosperity. In my paper, I argue how strongly the renewal of prosperity in the Spanish Netherlands-and especially in the trade center of Antwerp-was connected not only to Habsburg sovereignty and civic virtues but also to agriculture and the land surrounding the metropolis on the Scheldt. It will be discussed how Janssens consciously refers to the Antwerp Joyous Entries of the sixteenth century, especially the one held in 1594 for Archduke Ernest of Austria, as there the importance of a cultivated land was directly linked to the return of a Golden Age for Antwerp-an Aurea Aetas Antverpiensis.