De inkomst te Amsterdam van Lodewijk Napoleon op 20 April 1808 1808

Jan Anthonie Langendijk the Younger made this watercolor drawing of “The Entry of Louis Napoleon into Amsterdam on 20 April 1808.” The Dutch Republic had been replaced by the Kingdom of Holland in 1806, and Louis, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, was installed as King. Langendijk shows the new monarch greeted by enthusiastic crowds and civic dignitaries. The orderly ranks of soldiers, the waving hats, the flags, and the decorated buildings combine to create a picture of national unity. But we should remember that the Kingdom of Holland was created through military force. What, then, is the public role of art in this context? The drawing’s iconography might be read as propaganda. To better understand it, we need to examine sources such as official records, newspaper reports, and personal letters, looking for the politics of imagery and the social conditions that shaped its production. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.