Spotprent op de opening van de Staten-Generaal, 1870 1870

This caricature by Johan Michaël Schmidt Crans, made in 1870, depicts the opening of the Dutch parliament with biting satire. The oversized bicorne hats and elaborate uniforms evoke the pomp of state, yet are rendered with an unflattering eye. Consider the hat; it started as a practical piece of military gear, but evolved into a symbol of authority, adorning monarchs and officials across Europe. Its reappearance throughout history—from Napoleon's France to the Dutch parliament—demonstrates its enduring symbolic power. Yet here, in Crans’ hand, the hat is not a celebration, but rather a mockery of those who wear it. The exaggerated size and comical figures beneath undermine the very authority the hat attempts to project. This cartoon taps into a collective unease—the tension between genuine leadership and mere performance, subtly mocking the performance of power. The image is thus an echo, a return of past symbols into a new context where their meaning is questioned and upended, showing us that the life of images is indeed one of constant transformation.