Allegory of Rome, title plate from The Roman Heroes

This engraving is from a series of ten prints depicting heroes from ancient Roman history. In this allegorical title plate, the Haarlem engraver Hendrick Goltzius dedicated the series to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, framing him, a modern ruler, as the heir of ancient Roman valor. The bulging bodies and fanciful costumes in the imaginary portraits are characteristic of Goltzius’s style, which emulated and exaggerated the dynamic poses and muscular forms of ancient sculpture.