Reproductie van een ontwerp van een voor en achterzijde van een triomfboog door Theodor de Bry before 1880

This engraving presents designs for the front and back of a triumphal arch, a motif deeply rooted in the display of power. Arches, adorned with figures and inscriptions, served as potent symbols of victory and authority, tracing back to ancient Roman traditions. Note how the arch itself acts as a conduit, a gateway for the triumphant return. These structures speak to the enduring human desire to memorialize achievements and assert dominance. This impulse is not confined to antiquity; it echoes through Renaissance and Baroque periods, resurfacing in modern monuments. Consider, for instance, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The arch represents a desire to immortalize transient moments of glory. The triumphal arch motif encapsulates how societies choose to remember, celebrate, and perpetuate narratives of success. The visual language speaks to a collective psyche, and is a stage where cultural memory plays out.