Prospect of Yorke Castle

In 1669, Hollar accompanied a delegation to the Moroccan port of Tangier, which had come under English control with the marriage of Charles II to the Portuguese infanta Catherine of Braganza. This is one of about thirty panoramic views that Hollar made to record the town and forts for the king. It shows his understanding of topographical draftsmanship in its attempt to accurately record the military fortifications and landscape features. At the same time, it reveals his eye for pictorial and narrative details, such as the team of horses pulling a wagon of building materials over the sand, followed by a hunched figure carrying a pickax (2022).