Affiche bij de schenking van het 'Monument de la Hollande amie' aan Verdun 1919

This poster, printed in 1919 by Huib Luns, uses a limited palette of golden hues to commemorate the gift of the 'Monument de la Hollande amie' to Verdun. It's like Luns is setting the scene for a play, a historical drama perhaps. Look at the way the text is arranged, almost like a collage, each word carefully placed within the frame. The angel in the centre, poised between 1914 and 1918, is rendered with soft, flowing lines. The statue and the dates anchor the poster, giving it a sense of gravity. The colour feels almost like sepia, bringing a sense of history to the piece, as if the work is already remembering something. There’s something so gentle about the way the artist has handled the subject matter. It reminds me of the work of Käthe Kollwitz, though less graphic. They both use printmaking to deal with themes of war, loss, and remembrance. Art becomes a way of working through trauma, an ongoing conversation, a space for multiple voices.