About this artwork

This engraving shows Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, with her husband, Frederick, who was crowned king of Bohemia in 1619. It is a work of Protestant propaganda showing the couple’s accession as a triumph of the Protestant cause. The couple are the focal point of the composition, standing confidently in their crowns with rays of sun shining down on them. The inscription reads “It is the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes”. In the background, at the left, the Protestant reformers John Huss, Luther and Calvin, are seen deep in conversation, whereas to the right Catholic clergy are driven out of the scene towards a holocaust by devils. However, Frederick and Elizabeth’s reign was short lived, lasting until his defeat by Catholic forces at the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620.

Updated before 2020

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