Vrede van Rijswijk, ter ere van Lodewijk XIV 1698

This is a silver medal, of just 3cm in diameter, made to celebrate the Peace of Rijswijk. It is currently part of the Rijksmuseum collection. In 1697, this treaty brought an end to the Nine Years' War, a major conflict involving Louis XIV of France and a European coalition. The medal’s imagery casts Louis as a triumphant peacemaker. His portrait dominates one side, while the other features allegorical imagery, referencing the glory of peace. Such medals were powerful tools of propaganda. Distributed amongst elites, they reinforced Louis XIV’s image as a powerful and benevolent ruler. The production and distribution of these medals can be studied through archival records, shedding light on the political uses of art in the service of state power. Art historians consider the broader context by investigating the political motives behind such artworks. The meaning of art is never fixed; it is always contingent on the social and institutional conditions of its making and reception.