Belvedère te Nijmegen 1636 - 1687

Jacob Esselens created the artwork "Belvedère te Nijmegen" using pen and brown ink, capturing a seemingly tranquil Dutch landscape. However, beyond its serene surface lies a potent symbol, a high tower overlooking the scene. The tower, historically, is a sentinel and emblem of power and authority. In medieval times, it represented safety, but also the dominion of those who inhabited it, a concept we can trace back to the Tower of Babel and its ambitions of reaching the divine. As time progressed, this visual language echoed in numerous forms, from the fortified castles protecting Renaissance city-states to the secluded towers where Romantic heroes found refuge. Here, the tower seems to guard over Nijmegen, but it also evokes a collective memory of dominance and control, engaging viewers with a deep, subconscious connection to the past. It is a reminder that symbols evolve but their potency remains, resurfacing in different contexts, taking on new yet related meanings through history.