Aanslag van Maarten Schenck op Nijmegen, 1589 1794 - 1796

Noach van der Meer the Younger made this print of the ‘Attack by Maarten Schenck on Nijmegen, 1589’ using etching, sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. It depicts a failed military raid during the early stages of the Dutch Revolt. But this image wasn’t made in 1589. Van der Meer produced it two centuries later, in a period when the Dutch Republic was starting to look back on its origins with a sense of national pride. The print shows Schenck’s men launching their attack from boats on the river. But look closer and you'll see the chaos of battle, as men drown amidst cannon fire. The print isn't just a historical record; it's a carefully constructed narrative. It reminds viewers of Dutch courage but also the great sacrifices involved in nation-building. If we want to understand the print better, we might research popular attitudes towards Dutch history in the late 1700s or early 1800s. The meaning of art is always tied to its social and institutional context.