Beeld van Voorzichtigheid (Prudentia) in de Vierschaar van het Stadhuis op de Dam 1719 - 1783

Hubert Quellinus created this print, “Prudentia,” to be placed within a book about the new Town Hall of Amsterdam. The image shows a statue of a woman holding both a serpent and a mirror. This is Prudentia, or prudence. It was meant to convey qualities of wisdom, circumspection, and foresight. The statue, in the Town Hall, was part of a larger program of images and symbols intended to inspire the magistrates and judges who worked there. Prudence and other virtues were intended to remind the city’s leaders of their responsibilities to the public. In the Dutch Republic of this period, it was thought that the state should embody the values of reason and order. These values were thought to derive from classical antiquity. Statues and prints such as these are therefore key to understanding the culture of the Dutch Republic. Historical sources such as city archives and records of the institutions, provide valuable insight into the meaning of art as contingent on social and institutional contexts.