Slag bij Boutersem c. 1831

Johannes Jelgerhuis created this watercolor, "Battle of Boutersem," sometime around the turn of the 19th century. Jelgerhuis was working in a Netherlands caught between revolutions and wars, the echoes of which are visible in the very image he creates. Here, we see the theater of war reduced to the scale of a drawing-room display. Jelgerhuis shows us the grand narrative of battle through a distinctly class-bound lens. The common soldier is reduced to a faceless mass, while the officers in their finery take center stage. The fallen horse and dismounted rider remind us of the cost of such conflicts. There is an interesting ambivalence about the work. The artist does not glorify war. Instead, the artist seems to ask us, who are these men? What are they fighting for? And at what cost? As you consider this artwork, think about how war and violence are represented and consider the stories that often remain unseen.