Parade met wagens en ruiters Possibly 1787 - 1808

This undated sketch of a parade with carriages and horsemen was made with pen in brown ink by Jan Brandes, who lived between 1743 and 1808. It shows a procession in a loosely rendered fashion. Brandes was a Dutch clergyman and artist, who travelled extensively through Asia at a time when the Dutch East India Company was at its peak. The visual codes in this image are tied up with Dutch colonial ambitions. It's likely Brandes made such sketches in preparation for more finished works, or as aide-memoires. The public role of art in 18th century Holland was often tied up with self-representation and commerce. The politics of imagery were central to how the Dutch projected their power overseas. As historians, we can use archives, travel logs, and other drawings by Brandes to better understand this sketch in its social and institutional context. The meaning of art is always contingent on its historical setting.