Aanhouding van de prinses bij Goejanverwellesluis, 1787 1787

This small etching by Mathias de Sallieth, made in 1787, captures the moment Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia was detained near Goejanverwellesluis. The carriages are halted, and the princess, a symbol of Prussian power, is confronted by armed guards, figures embodying the rising tide of Dutch Patriot movement. The image is ripe with symbolism of disrupted journeys and intercepted power, a powerful motif found throughout art history. Consider the Roman triumph, where a general's procession signals ultimate authority; here, the procession is not one of triumph, but of humiliation and defiance. Like the imagery of the deposition from the cross, where the body of Christ is removed, evoking themes of loss and betrayal. The princess is being symbolically unseated, her journey interrupted. This etching then is not merely a depiction of an event, but a powerful tableau that evokes the universal themes of power, resistance, and the cyclical nature of history.