In this artwork, how is the Painting discussed?
Fishing for Souls shows an allegory of the jealousy between the various religious denominations during the Twelve Years' Truce between the Dutch Republic and Spain. The river signifies the split between the Northern and the Southern Netherlands that occurred with the Beeldenstorm. In the original painting the Protestant fishermen had successfully fished up some believers while the Catholic nets were empty. The "souls" near the Catholic boats were added later. On the left bank are the two princes of Orange behind an orange tree branch; Maurice and Frederick Henry. They are accompanied by Frederick V, Elector Palatine, King James I of England and the young Louis XIII of France with his mother Maria de' Medici. On the right bank of the river are the Catholic cardinals carrying their pope accompanied by Albert and Isabella. The various attributes of the fishermen (nets, boats, etc.) are labelled with Latin text to clarify the meaning. A large fly is painted on as a trompe-l'œil wink to Jan Brueghel the Elder, who created many similar amusing allegories with visual jokes in them.
King James I of England trompe-l'œil Beeldenstorm Jan Brueghel the Elder Maurice Frederick V, Elector Palatine Twelve Years' Truce Frederick Henry Dutch Republic Maria de' Medici Isabella Albert Louis XIII of France Spain Louis XIII