Honderdjarige herdenking van de geboorte van Willem van Oranje 1933 1933

Curator: This bronze relief sculpture is titled "Honderdjarige herdenking van de geboorte van Willem van Oranje 1933" by Oswald Wenckebach. The detail is just astonishing. Editor: It’s quite striking. What narratives do you find at play in Wenckebach's commemorative piece? Curator: It immediately speaks to the constructed narratives surrounding national heroes. Look at Willem van Oranje, depicted in such humble prayer. It’s 1933; Europe is on the brink, grappling with burgeoning nationalist sentiments. The choice to portray Orange like this – kneeling, pious, utterly dependent on divine protection – is deliberately constructing a certain kind of leader, one intertwined with religious justification. What’s your reading of the surrounding inscription? Editor: It frames Orange's actions as divinely ordained? “Ghyogodt my myn heer, myijt schilt ende betrouwen zijt.” God is his protector; Orange’s strength comes from faith, so his authority comes from God? It raises questions about how nations manipulate history to solidify power and manufacture consent, particularly during politically charged times like the 1930s. Curator: Exactly. What's fascinating is how the artist is intentionally reinforcing these ideological positions through what might seem like a simple commemorative portrait. Are we truly remembering the history or creating a carefully curated one that serves a particular national agenda? Do you see how bronze is used, to give him solidity? It gives permanence to a concept: nation and divine right, intersecting? Editor: So this sculpture isn’t just about honoring Willem van Oranje. Curator: No, it is an intervention— a forceful statement during an era defined by deep-seated insecurities and nationalistic fervour, prompting audiences to align with a past subtly curated to endorse prevailing power structures. Food for thought. Editor: Absolutely. It makes me consider how the sculpture participates in and propagates its own form of historical narrative. Curator: Indeed. Let us question who benefits from the narratives crafted and perpetuated by commemorative artwork such as this.