O.C.J. Hoogendijk van Domselaar, lid van de Staten van Gelderland, stichter van zeventig huizen voor ambachtslieden te Tiel 1860

Curator: Here we have a bronze relief from 1860, portraying O.C.J. Hoogendijk van Domselaar, a member of the States of Gelderland. It commemorates his founding of seventy houses for artisans in Tiel. It’s a striking example of how commemorative medals served to solidify reputations and civic achievements during that period. Editor: It has an impressive weightiness. There’s a certain seriousness to the portrait itself, but on the flip side, the architectural rendering of the houses looks surprisingly…hopeful, almost utopian, if I dare say? Curator: Interesting observation! Let's delve into the materiality. The bronze, chosen for its durability and perceived value, elevates the subject matter. The carving technique suggests a dedication to craft that mirrors Hoogendijk’s own patronage of the artisan class. The medal, in its function as a kind of reproducible, almost democratic, version of nobility, would be worn, touched, and passed around… Editor: ...carrying a weighty legacy! And perhaps, this form offered a personal connection in contrast to, say, a monumental sculpture? It becomes quite intimate in size. Thinking about the artists involved—were they also part of the artisan class Hoogendijk supported? It poses intriguing questions about labor and class within artistic production. Curator: It definitely complicates the relationship between patron and artist. One has to consider, too, how the commissioning of such a medal circulated capital and influence within this society. In doing so it’s crucial to examine both sides of the coin - or medal in this case – to fully understand it’s importance as an artwork, an artifact, and piece of propaganda. Editor: Right! And it begs a final question: How did the occupants of those seventy houses perceive this symbolic gesture, captured forever in bronze? The medal itself might be the most beautiful dwelling of all.