Overwinningen van de Geallieerden (bovenste helft), 1691

Daniel de Lafeuille’s “Overwinningen van de Geallieerden,” created in 1691, captures a moment during the Nine Years' War, a conflict shaped by shifting alliances and dynastic ambitions in late 17th-century Europe. This detailed engraving reflects the period’s glorification of military might and the complex politics of the era. Battles were as much about territorial expansion as they were about establishing religious and political dominance. Lafeuille’s choice to depict the ‘Allied’ victories underscores a specific narrative—a deliberate construction of heroism and triumph, even as the human cost of war remained a stark reality for many. Consider how the detailed rendering of battle scenes—the clash of soldiers, the fallen horses—contrasts with the more abstract maps at the top, symbolizing the territories at stake. What does it mean to reduce lives and landscapes to mere strategic assets? This work invites us to reflect on the stories we tell about war, and who gets to tell them.